55 Minutes
by totaldile
Summary: In which Yang realizes that Blake, the French transfer student is really, really hot, and Ruby is less than satisfied with being partnered with Weiss Schnee for her History project. An international school AU where each member of RWBY, JNPR and SSSN is of a different nationality. Partner-pairings, ongoing.
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is, everyone! The first chapter of the RWBY Exchange/Transfer Student AU. Yang Xiao Long is hot for the French exchange student, Blake Belladonna, and Ruby Rose is paired with Weiss Schnee, the German transfer student colloquially known as the 'Ice Queen' for a History project. Bumbleby/White Rose, 4743 words. Enjoy! **

From outside the confines of their tiny dorm room, the sun began to set, melting into the horizon in a mix of red, purple and yellow. Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long basked in the vanishing sun's light, painted with colour. They sat on the floor, Yang staring at the playing cards in her hands. Opposite them sat Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc, one of whom was smiling warmly, whilst the other scratched his head in frustration.

"…Jaune, got any fours?" Yang said, tucking a strand of messy blonde hair behind her ear in a fruitless attempt to stop it falling into her face. The blonde-haired, blue eyed boy sitting across from her sighed, and handed over a card, defeating spreading across his face. Lavender eyes lit up as Yang gleefully took the card from the downtrodden boy, and threw her entire hand onto the floor, proclaiming, "I'm out!"

Ruby rolled silver eyes, and Pyrrha smiled sympathetically, patting the boy on the back.

"One day," Yang said, smirking as she gathered up the cards back into one pile again. "Anybody keen for another round?"

Jaune shot her a look of exasperation, which only earned him a snigger in response. Ruby lay back down on the ground, letting her arms fall with a thump.

"I can't be bothered," she said. "I'm still tired after last night." The silver-eyed girl released a huffing sigh to demonstrate her point. Green eyes blinked as Pyrrha creased her eyebrows.

"I should probably see how Nora is doing…" she said, gesturing towards the door. Jaune nodded along, standing up alongside the girl with the fiery hair.

"Hey, yeah, where is she? I haven't seen her all day!" Ruby sat up suddenly, frowning. It was unlike Nora to stay out of things for long. Yang grinned, raising her eyebrows.

"She got waaaaay dizzy on the fizzy last night, so I heard she's still in bed, hung over as fuck. Ren's probably looking after her."

Ruby sighed in exasperation, and Pyrrha and Jaune exchanged a look of amusement. One other thing Nora was notable for was being a little too drink-happy. Luckily for her, Ren seemed to be content to look after her, leaving the silver-eyed girl to wonder just what it was like to have a best friend. Then again, she had Yang, didn't she? Her big sister was probably just as good.

Jaune and Pyrrha waved as they headed for the door, causing Yang to remark, "What, nobody's keen for another round? Lame."

The lavender-eyed girl pouted, and Pyrrha smiled weakly, waving, "Sorry!" as she shut the door behind her. Yang sighed dramatically, throwing her head back and leaning back against the wall below the window. Red, purple and golden light shone on her legs.

"Great," the older girl grumbled, "Now I have to think school thoughts. Why can't winter break be longer?"

Ruby rolled her eyes, smiling despite her sister's lack of enthusiasm. "It'll be fun, though! The classes are getting reshuffled, so you might not have to sit next to Ice Queen anymore."

Yang scowled, contempt in her voice. "It'd be better if break never ended, so that bitch could stay in Germany. Ugh."

In her sophomore year, Yang had decided to ask out Weiss Schnee, a German transfer student colloquially known as the 'Ice Queen' for her frosty demeanour and elegant appearance. The two had dated for a grand total of three weeks before exploding into the biggest fight their school had seen in years, resulting in the two being suspended for three weeks, and over two years of snide comments, dirty looks and 'accidents'. Yang had always left the meaning of the latter to Ruby's imagination, but the younger girl didn't get a good feeling from it. At all. _It's either secret hook-ups in the closet again, or she's referring to the time she burned the girl's school uniform. _Ruby suspected the latter.

Gazing out the window, Ruby watched the school courtyard, no longer covered in snow, but just empty concrete. Nobody wanted to be out in the cold this late, for sure. Suddenly, Ruby saw an unfamiliar black car drive up the driveway, coming to rest at the start of the Courtyard.

"Hey, Yang, look," Ruby tugged at her sister's sleeve, and the two stared through the window at the black car as their principal, Headmaster Ozpin, and his assistant, Miss Goodwitch, made their way across the courtyard, and greeted whoever was inside it.

"Is something important happening we don't know about…?" Ruby offered in explanation, confused. Yang just stared, pointing at the figure who stepped out of the car.

"Uh, it must be a new kid," Yang said, tilting her head. "She's wearing our school skirt, so…? I can't really see her face, but she doesn't look like anyone we know."

Ruby nodded – the girl had long, flowing black hair, though they couldn't see her other features from so far away. The description didn't match anyone in their year, or any of the other years.

Ozpin and Goodwitch led the girl into the administrative wing of the main school building, and Yang sighed as the black car drove away.

"Probably some new rich kid," she said, waving a hand. "Weird that they transferred in the middle of the year, though."

Ruby nodded, in affirmation, shrugging. "She's probably not even in our year, anyway. No need to worry about it."

Yang sighed, slumping down against the wall again. The light had turned from red and yellow to blue and dark, as the sun began to disappear. Only a few light rays scattered around the room, casting a chill over the two sisters.

"Brrr," Yang shivered. "Can you turn on the heater? It's freezing."

Ruby rolled her eyes, standing up stiffly and making her way to the other side of the room. Her older sister wasn't exactly dressed for the weather, wearing an orange tank top and black pyjama shorts.

"Maybe you wouldn't be so cold if you put some clothes on," Ruby suggested, her tone wry. Yang pouted, throwing her arms in the air in mock protest.

"You're wearing a tank top too!" she said. Ruby shrugged.

"I'm not the one complaining," she replied, "Besides, I'm wearing pyjama pants, not stupid shorts like you."

Yang rolled closer to her sister, grabbing onto Ruby's legs and holding them tight.

"Maybe I should just cuddle with you instead, then!"

Ruby panicked, trying to shake her off, but found herself toppling to the floor. With a thud, she fell to the floor, Yang grabbing onto her from behind and hugging her close. Ruby squirmed, wanting release form Yang's sideways bear hug.

"Yang! Get o-off!" she squawked, kneeing her sister in the stomach. Yang just laughed, taking the blow but refusing to let go.

"Tch."

Suddenly, the two roommate's attention was drawn to the door, where an unwelcome figure stood. Weiss Schnee faced them, a sneer on her face, and stood in the doorway, aloof.

"_Igitt._"

Her tone was as if she were disgusted. Then, just like that, she stalked off, and vanished. Neither of the sisters could speak German, but they were pretty sure she'd just insulted the both of them.

In seconds, Yang was on her feet, shouting at the girl from the doorway, "You wanna go, bitch!?"

Ruby latched onto her older sister, trying to act as a restraint, but ultimately failing.

"Go back to Germany where you belong!"

"Yang, calm down," she urged, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. Last time this happened, was…well, the incident two years ago. Ruby didn't want another repeat of two weeks of moochy, grumpy Yang to deal with.

Thankfully, the blonde growled, but stormed back into the room, lying down on her bed, shoving Ruby aside as she did so.

"I'm going to bed," she said, throwing the covers over top of herself and curling up.

"…it's seven."

"Ruby, I'm going to bed."

Ruby rolled her eyes, before shutting the door to their shared dorm. _Maybe I'll go see what Nora's doing. _

The hallways were lit now, as the day's light had faded, leaving only darkness to replace it. The cold, cream walls of the dormitory were everywhere, most stark and bare, with the exception of an occasional window. The carpet was, a deep maroon red that looked as if it had seen better days. Regardless, it was home – and it had been for the past six months.

Nora's dorm was wasn't far down the hall, only a short walk. After only a few minutes, Ruby found herself at Room 242 – Nora and Pyrrha's shared room – and knocked.

"Come in," came the call from inside. Ruby smiled, turning the round, ornate but tarnished doorknob, and stepped inside. Pyrrha, Jaune, and Ren sat, chatting, whilst Nora slept in her own bed. Ruby felt concerned. _Aren't they gonna wake her up? _

Almost as if sensing her discomfort, Jaune patted the floor beside him, saying, "Don't worry, she won't wake up."

Ruby smiled, taking a seat next to him. Jaune was of French heritage, resulting in a heavy accent, but having been raised bilingually, he spoke fluent English. The silver-eyed girl loved listening to him speak; he had a sort of flavour to his words that was interesting and…unique, if nothing else. _If only he'd be a little more confident, he'd be a great Head Boy. _Ren spoke up, continuing his story.

"She was such a hassle to get back to her dorm room; she stopped every five minutes to tell me how great I was. Whilst I appreciated the flattery, I was more concerned about getting her home."

Pyrrha smiled wanly, gazing at her roommate with mirth. "She certainly does enjoying drinking," the red-haired girl said, nudging Jaune and raising an eyebrow. The blonde-haired boy blushed, and protested.

"I-I didn't have that many! I don't even have a hangover!" he said, with impudence in his voice. Ruby and Pyrrha looked at each other, giggling.

"You had enough, Jaune," Ruby said, covering her mouth. "That's what counts. You were completely giddy."

Jaune went redder, sending the two girls into another fit of giggles. Ren just rolled his eyes,

"Where's Yang?" Jaune asked, looking around. "She didn't come with you?"

Ruby just shrugged, gesturing towards the outside of the room.

"Ice Queen's back, so she went to bed early."

The room's atmosphere suddenly turned from jovial to frosty at the very mention of the girl.

"Oh?" Jaune was seemingly oblivious to the change in mood. "Is she back? That's great!"

Ruby laughed nervously, looking at Pyrrha and Ren for help. Neither of them said anything, and just exchanged looks. Usually, Jaune's larger-than-little crush on the Ice Queen was a source of amusement in the blue-eyed boy's, well, boyish charms, but at a mention of Yang? It was better left unsaid.

"…moving on, how'd you manage to get Nora back here, Ren?" Ruby tactfully tried to change the topic. Jaune looked bewildered, but slowly the conversation resumed as Ren recounted his 'heroic' tale of getting Nora back home from the prior night's party.

Then, suddenly, it was 9:22pm and Ruby was yawning.

"Shoot, I should probably go to bed, guys. See ya." With a second yawn, Ruby stood up, heading towards the door.

"Oh, see ya!" Jaune called out, followed by a tired wave from Pyrrha and Ren. Ruby waved back, before quietly shutting the door, and heading back down the hallway to her own dorm room.

At the sudden blast of cold air, Ruby shivered. The hallways didn't have any heaters, meaning the night air would always be frigid and unwelcoming. The silver-eyed girl rubbed her upper arms in an attempt not to freeze solid right then and there.

As she walked, she saw someone coming towards her, with black hair, pale skin, and bright amber eyes. _Oh. She must be the girl from the courtyard. _If she was indeed a new student, she didn't show any signs of it. She seemed to know exactly where she was going, walking down the hallway with a purpose.

She passed Ruby without so much as a glance in the younger girl's direction, leaving Ruby a little bewildered. _Huh. Maybe I've just never seen her before. _The girl shrugged, ignoring it for now.

Ruby opened the door to her and Yang's shared room quietly, trying not to disturb her sister on the off chance the girl was actually asleep

To the younger girl's surprise, it seemed her sister was actually asleep, Ruby noted as she tiptoed into their room. She could hear Yang's gentle breathing, and the room was completely dark. Ruby smiled wanly; when Yang said she was going to bed early, that usually meant she had a hangover. She usually never let on, but the girl had been grumpy all day. _Nice try, Yang, but you're not fooling me. _

Ruby settled into bed, pulling the sheets over her shoulders. _Now I know why you were so weird last night. 'I've only had a few', my butt. _Whilst Yang did have a remarkably high tolerance to alcohol, Ruby's older sister also had a tendency to overdo it. Not that the older girl would ever admit it, though.

Ruby sighed, a little contentedly. _Whatever. _The silver-eyed settled, closing her eyes, and allowed herself to slowly fall asleep.

It took all of half an hour for Blake Belladonna to admit she was completely lost. The school walls wound in unfamiliar ways, too confusing for her mind to grasp.

She sighed; how exactly had a simple bathroom trip turned into an hour-long expedition of the unexplored? The Headmaster had seemed nice enough, personally coming to greet her. His assistant was a little frostier, but still kind enough to escort the girl to her dorm. Surprisingly enough, her roommate hadn't yet arrived back, so Blake had taken it upon herself to unpack. Half an hour later, she was still alone, so the dark-haired girl had decided to take a brief bathroom trip, and hopefully learn a little more about the geography of the school.

Unfortunately, she'd never made it to the bathroom, and she now knew less about the geography of the school than she thought she had before. Blake sighed, running her hands through her hair. She didn't even know if she was anywhere near the dorms.

_What if I'm somewhere I shouldn't be? Wouldn't I get in trouble? _If anything, Blake just wanted to have a normal school life, without getting in trouble or doing bad things. _Maybe if I keep my face straight, if I come across a teacher, they won't get mad at me. _The black-haired girl made an effort to keep her face straight, facing ahead. The cream walls stared at her, and Blake stared back. To her left, she heard a noise that sounded like a door opening, and then closing. Her stomach seized with panic. _Don't look away. Straight face. Look ahead. Look confident. _Blake maintained her composure, and somebody walked right past her, though Blake felt the burning sting of eyes watching her for the briefest of moments. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a flash of brown hair, red tipped. Blake's head whipped around, her composure vanishing. She saw a girl in pyjamas vanish into another door, closing it behind her. _Shit. What am I doing? I could have asked her for directions. _Blake sighed, tugging at her hair.

Then, she halted, briefly. _Wait. If she was in pyjamas, does that mean I'm in the dormitory hallway? _Blake checked the doors; they were numbered in a familiar fashion. The girl heaved a sigh of relief, as she realised she was at Room 247. _My room was…263, right? _Blake continued walking down the halls, nerves creeping into her stomach as she reached the door numbered 263. She reached for the handle, and to her surprised, the door was unlocked. _Is this the right room….? _Regardless of her nerves, she opened the door anyway.

To her relief, the room was familiar, although her things had been unceremoniously shoved to the side. Blake supposed her roommate was back – and, as she looked around the room, she was right. A girl with icy white hair in a ponytail was rummaging through her luggage, and hanging things up in their shared wardrobe. The girl turned around as Blake shut the door, staring at the black-haired girl as one would a stain upon a shirt.

"You're my roommate?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow. She had a noticeable German accent, but her English seemed fluent enough. Blake nodded, unsure what to do.

"…yes," she said, trying to keep it simple. Despite how well she could read and write it, and even understand it when listening, Blake still had trouble speaking it confidently. Small answers were fine, but long conversations were particularly daunting. It was much easier just to keep to herself.

Her roommate's eyes widened as the girl heard her response.

"You're French?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Blake nodded again, surprised the girl had recognised her accent from such a short answer.

"I speak some French – is that your native language?" she asked, and again, Blake nodded, beginning to wish the girl would introduce herself and just leave her alone. _I kind of want to sleep. _Her need to go to the bathroom had vanished, replaced by her eyelids drooping and intermittent yawns. However, the girl across the room kept going, apparently fascinated.

"How fascinating – what part of France are you from?"

The girl didn't seem to have any intention of stopping. Blake tried not to sigh as a yawn escaped her lips.

"Alsace," Blake yawned, heading towards her bed, thankfully already made. The white-haired girl stared at her with striking blue eyes, traces of a smile playing on her mouth as she sat cross-legged on her own bed.

"Oh! Do you speak German, then?"

She kept going and going, without letting Blake stop to take a breath. _Please, just leave me alone. _Blake nodded reluctantly – she did speak a certain amount of German, having learned it whilst she was growing up from the other kids in the street. She wouldn't call herself fluent, but she could mostly hold a conversation in it. She was probably equally as good at German as she was at English – okay, but there was a lot of room for improvement.

Her roommate inhaled with excitement, eyes flashing. "My name is Weiss Schnee, by the way," she said, placing a hand on her chest and smiling proudly. "I'm the heiress to the Schnee Oil Company."

Blake had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. _Great. I'm rooming with a likely brat. _"Blake."

She kept her answers curt, trying and hoping to send Weiss some sort of message – such as, 'please leave me alone, I don't want to talk to you'.

Weiss opened her lips to speak again, but Blake interrupted her suddenly, with "-I'm sorry…can I go to sleep?"

Blake held her breath, going over the phrase in her mind. _Did I pronounce that correctly? Were my inflections alright? _Thankfully, it seemed her roommate understood what she'd meant to say. The girl sniffed, going back to what she was doing before. Relief washed over the black-haired girl as she changed into her pyjamas, crawling into bed. Weiss wordlessly turned off the light, and within minutes, Blake could hear her breathing softly in her sleep. However, instead of sleep coming easily, Blake lay awake in bed, wondering exactly what the following day would bring for her. _Am I going to be able to talk to anyone here? _What concerned her most was her English – having come from a town where French was spoken and English taught, it made things difficult to suddenly show up at an English-speaking school in an English-speaking country. It helped that Beacon was somewhat known internationally, meaning it received a number of international students. Despite this, the academy was, in the end, an English-speaking school, and Blake dreaded the thought of not being able to understand anyone properly.

It was probably another half hour of worrying before Blake Belladonna finally settled into an uneasy sleep.

Yang Xiao Long woke up to the sounds of birds chirping, the warmth of the sun on her face, and the image of her darling sister Ruby Rose pulling a face directly above her own.

Yang's head cracked against the back of the wall as the girl backed up suddenly. Ruby fell on the floor, sniggering and laughing. Yang growled, leaping out of bed and straddling the girl's stomach, holding her sister down. Then, she began to tickle the girl.

"You think I'm gonna let you off making me bang my head this early in the morning?" Yang said, eyes flaming, and let out a wicked laugh, "You're deluded, darling little sister!"

Ruby laughed uncontrollably as Yang tickled her neck, her armpits, even her feet.

"O-ohkkay Yang, p-, please stop! I gi-ive, I give!" Ruby squawked, lifting her hands in surrender. Yang grinned, raising her eyebrows, and released the silver-eyed girl, offering her a hand. Ruby gratefully took it, and Yang punched her shoulder.

"Ouch, that really hurt my head," Yang said, grabbing her uniform off of its coat hangers.

Ruby just stuck out her tongue, and Yang giggled as the two put on their uniforms – a red plaid skirt, a white blouse, and a black blazer.

They chatted about nonsensical things as they headed to the cafeteria for breakfast, Yang recounting yet another tale from Saturday night's party, which led to Ruby raising her eyebrows, and reminding Yang just how drunk she'd been – which the older girl profusely denied, of course. She hadn't been _that _drunk.

Yang chose a bowl of cereal for breakfast – plain and simple, and sat down at their typical table. Ruby was more of a toast girl, and took the seat opposite Yang as Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren and Nora eventually joined them. Each table sat around ten people, but nobody else usually wanted to sit with them. All six were perfectly fine with that.

"Ruby, whatcha got first?" Yang asked, bringing a spoonful of cereal to her mouth. Her younger sister sighed, munching on toast.

"History. You?"

"Chemistry," Yang pulled a face, sticking a finger down her throat. Ruby rolled her eyes, but Nora shoved her head in.

"Why'd you take it if you don't like it?" she asked, apparently having recovered from her two-day hangover. Yang held back a snigger. _She's incredible, alright. What a comeback after yesterday. _

"I dunno, I passed last year? It's just so boring," Yang replied, shoving another spoonful of cereal into her mouth. "Who cares about stupid Lewis diagrams and that shit?"

Jaune nodded in agreement, nibbling alongside at toast, "Yeah. I'm glad I decided to drop it. I think we have Latin first, right Pyrrha?"

Jaune's accent was still heavy as ever, Yang noted as Pyrrha nodded in affirmation. The six continued to chat, nibbling away at their respective dishes, until suddenly, the bell rang, indicating five minutes until class began. Yang sighed dramatically, slinging her bag onto her shoulder and standing up.

"I'll be seeing you, then, guys."

Yang waved as she headed to the exit, then pushed through the double-doors and began to walk down the link between the cafeteria and the Science block. Instead of cream, the walls here were simply polished wood, and the floor some sort of white lino. _Probably to stop the floor melting when we drop chemicals,_ Yang mused as she paced down the halls. Her Chemistry class was on the floor above, and as she headed towards the stairs, she was bombarded by a sudden swarm of people. _Dear God. _Her pace slowed as she moved slowly, but steadily up the stairs, trying not to push the person in front of her as she was shoved from behind. Yang had to hold her tongue to avid lashing out at whoever was walking behind her.

Thankfully, she only had to endure one flight of the crowd, and made her way out of the swarm of black-and-red to her Chemistry classroom. She walked inside, and took a seat at the back, concealing a yawn. Though her hangover – _headache_ – from the day before had gone, she was still tired.

More and more people filtered in, many of whom Yang recognised, but wasn't particularly close with. _Boring. Do I even have any friends in this class? _Yang punched herself internally for being dumb enough to pick a class nobody else was taking.

Then, suddenly, a girl with raven-black strolled in, looking around with dull amber eyes. She walked to the back, and took the seat at the desk next to Yang's, sitting down quietly and taking her books out. Yang stared, mesmerised.

_Holy shit, _Yang thought, swallowing and trying to hide to inevitable blush that was spreading across her cheeks. _She's really, really hot. _

Ruby Rose bounced as she strolled into her History Class, accompanied by a notably less enthusiastic Lie Ren.

"Come on Ren, it's History! It's exciting!" she said as she rolled on the balls of her feet, hands clasped behind her back and a grin on her face.

Ren raised an eyebrow, saying, "Whilst I enjoy History to some extent, I don't think I share your…extreme enthusiasm."

Ruby pouted, poking out a tongue. "You're no fun." Ren raised both eyebrows this time, and Ruby giggled. The class as already partially full, most of the desks chosen already. The back rows were already completely filled, but that didn't bother the silver-eyed girl; she preferred to sit at the front. Ren took the seat next to her as Ruby chose a seat in the second-to-front row – close, but not too close to the Teacher.

"I wonder what we're going to be covering next?" Ruby said, vibrating in her seat. "Maybe the Wars of the Roses? Or the 1688 Revolution?" She had to stop herself from squeaking. Ren smiled wanly, blinking.

"You really love this stuff, don't you?" he said, gesturing towards his textbook. Ruby nodded, shaking her fists with excitement.

Suddenly, Ruby's face fell a little as a figure walked into the classroom. Weiss Schnee, the Ice Queen, stalked into class, taking a seat in the front row. Upon seeing Ruby, the white-haired girl curled her lip, then promptly turned her attention towards the front – away from Ruby. _Oh, great. Ice Queen's in my favourite class. _Ren pulled a sympathetic face; he was all too aware of the conflict between Weiss and Yang, and by association Ruby. The girl sighed, then let a smile wash across her face. _Who even cares? It's not like we're gonna talk to each other. We're not even sitting near one another. Besides, History is my favourite subject! There's no way I'm gonna let her ruin this! _

Ruby's smile felt a little more confident as their teacher, Mr. Port, walked into the room, placing the lesson's note on his desk. He cleared his throat, and the talkative din of the class died away as everyone began to pay attention.

"Welcome, everyone, to Senior History. I hope you all have had a good break, and that you've all rested up, ready for a new semester of hard work."

Ruby grinned, looking at Ren. Her friend rolled his eyes at her blatant enthusiasm.

"Our first topic this semester will be World War I. You'll be working in pairs for a group project that will span the first half of the semester. It'll count towards thirty percent of your grade, so work hard. Now, I'll begin with naming your partners."

Ruby sat up straight, excitement blazing through her veins. _I'm so excited! World War I! World War I! The original World War! _She grinned ferociously at Ren, who just rolled his eyes.

"Lie Ren and Sky Lark," Mr Port continued, earning a pout from Ruby. She'd have liked to have worked together with a close friend, but she supposed it wasn't the end of the world.

"Ruby Rose," Port continued, his voice gruff. Ruby's ears pricked up, excited.

"…and Weiss Schnee."

Ruby's stomach dropped forty floors, and she swallowed heavily. _…__Ice Queen?...Really? _She turned her head, meeting Weiss's invasive blue eyes. Her gaze was met with a disgusted expression as the Ice Queen curled her lip in repulsion. Ruby swallowed again, her heart sinking.

_Oh man, _Ruby thought. _Yang is really not gonna be happy about this. _

**As part of this chapter, I had the lovely tumblr user lilamala help me out with Weiss's German. Thanks so much!**

**_Igitt - _****means "yuck",and is pretty much pronounced like eegit, all vowels short.**

**Well, there we are, the first chapter. Read/Review/Favourite/Follow, and let me know what you think on my tumblr, seacatsinspace. If you have any headcanons you'd like me to throw in, let me know! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the wait, and welcome to the second chapter of 55 Minutes, the rwby exchange/transfer student AU! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, though I did get a little blocked up at times (hence the time-gap between the last chapter and this one…Hehehe). Bumbleby fans, today is your day as this chapter is a bumblebee goldmine. White Rose fans, dig it in, because the fluff begins next chapter! Welp, I hope you enjoy, everyone!**

Yang wasn't sure whether or not to say anything to the raven haired, amber eyed, _extremely attractive _girl sitting next to her as she became aware of a very hot, very pink blush spreading across her face. _Oh my god. Oh my god. She's hot. She's really, really hot. What do I do? _Yang wasn't used to feeling so…conflicted. Part of her knew she had class right now, and she should probably focus, but the other part of her really, really wanted to smash her lips against the new girl's. _Goddammit. How am I meant to focus now? _

She kept stealing glances, trying not to make it obvious that she kept peering at the girl's soft lips, tinged with pink, the way her hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back in perfect waves, or the way the sunlight caught on her amber eyes, making them glow like the sun. Thinking about it, Yang concluded she was probably failing. However, the girl hadn't seemed to have noticed. If she had, she wasn't letting on.

Yang wondered if she should say something. _Maybe I should talk to her – ask her name, or something? She's obviously new, so it won't look too suspicious, right? _Yang laughed nervously to herself, turning her head to look at the girl beside her. _All I have to do is say hi, and ask her name._

Yet just as Yang opened her lips, their teacher strode in, greeting the class.

"Good morning girls," she said, placing her laptop on the desk. "I trust you had a good break, as we'll be charging into it full-force this semester."

The golden-haired girl sighed, her plans foiled for now. _Just as I'd worked up the confidence…damn you, Thornton. _She slumped, resting her head on her desk, and tried to make it look like she was absentmindedly gazing in the direction of the new kid – not at all direction at _whoa she has a really nice figure. Wow. Holy crap, she's hot. Is anybody else seeing this? _

"Blake Belladonna?" the teacher called, having apparently begun roll-call whilst Yang was in dreamland.

The new kid nodded, quietly replying, "Yes, Madame."

Yang's eyes widened. _So her name's Blake? _She puzzled with the accent, before coming to a conclusion. _And she's…French? _Looking at the girl's lithe build, it made sense. _God, that's hot. _

"Yang Xiao Long?"

Yang's head whipped to the front, her body stiff as she tried to pretend she'd been paying attention.

"Y-yes miss!" she said, voice wavering, though she tried to keep it steady. Her teacher gave her a look, but said nothing. Yang let out a nervous laugh as she heard snickers throughout the classroom.

"Looks like nothing's changed with her,"

"Same old Xiao Long,"

Yang heard whispers and hushed voices all throughout the class, and a shiver ran through her spine as she realised the new girl was staring at her. Yang panicked. _Shit. Now she's going to think I'm a total slacker. Which is true, but she doesn't need to know that. _She felt amber eyes glance at her again, and Yang turned to her side, forcing a smile and waving. Blake raised an eyebrow, her mouth curving in a half-smile. Yang fist-bumped herself internally. _Okay. This is good. This is good, right? I got a smile! Sort of._ Yang turned her attention back to the teacher, a goofy smile spreading across her face.

Their teacher began talking about their new topic – something about thermochemical principles. Though she tried, the golden-haired girl couldn't wrap her head around what she was saying. Enthalpy? Entropy? She vaguely remembered the prior term from the year before, but the latter was a mystery.

Slowly, as the lesson went on, her eyes drifted more and more towards the girl sitting next to her. Eventually, Yang did nothing but rest her head on her desk, not even pretending to listen as she looked to the side. Thankfully, Blake seemed to be listening avidly, and taking lots of notes, meaning she didn't appear to notice Yang's gaze. _She's so studious. Aww. Maybe I could get her to tutor me in Chem? Would that be too obvious? _

Eventually, the class pulled to a close, and Yang shoved her books inside her bag, keeping one eye on Blake. _Maybe she has English next too? I could ask her to sit with me…_

Yang shook her head as she walked through the hallways. _No way. We probably don't even have the same class next. _The golden-haired girl's shoulders _drooped_ a little, disappointed. She really did want to see more of the vaguely mysterious exchange student. Yang hummed to herself, a tiny smile forming on her lips as she strutted down the hallways. _And she's French! That's so cute! _

Bouncing on her feet, she strolled out of the Science Block, through the link back to the Cafeteria, but instead of heading through the double doors to the food-hall itself, she took a left, heading down the stairs towards the English classrooms. The hallways this time had walls in white, with dark grey carpet. They were the newest classrooms at Beacon, and compared to the other, older classrooms, gave off a cool, clean feel. Yang felt the need to put on a cardigan as she opened the door to her English Class, and walked in.

"Hey, Yang!"

The golden-haired girl heard a call from her right as she stepped inside, and Yang turned to see Ruby, Pyrrha and Jaune waving at her. She grinned as she strutted over, taking a seat beside her sister. Pyrrha and Jaune seemed pleased to see her.

"There's quite a few of us in this class," Pyrrha noted. Having four out of six wasn't bad at all. Jaune nodded, gazing off to the side. Yang nudged her sister, drumming her fingers on the table with excitement.

"Hey, Ruby, Ruby," Yang jabbed an elbow into the girl's side, earning an "Ouch!" and a slightly irritated look, which she chose to ignore. "Guess who's sitting next to the exchange student in Chem?"

Ruby's irritation vanished, replaced by curiosity. The silver-eyed girl tilted her head, giving the older girl her full attention.

"Oh yeah? What's she like?" asked Ruby, cupping her chin and resting her elbows on the table. Yang felt her face go a little pink.

"She's, uh," Yang began, scratching her head in embarrassment. "…really, really hot."

Ruby snorted, covering her face as she let out a giggle.

"Of course that's the first thing you'd think of," she said. The older girl pouted.

"Yeah, well, if she's hot she's hot!" Yang protested. Ruby raised her eyebrows, for once being in the position of the teaser, rather than the teased.

"Do you _like _her?" Ruby asked, childish excitement rising in her voice. Yang nodded, drumming her fingers on the table. The younger girl suppressed a squeal, and Yang pulled her into a side-hug.

"I don't expect you to go around repeating that, though," Yang said, raising an eyebrow. "Alright?"

Ruby nodded, mimicking zipping her lips. Yang glanced across the table at Jaune and Pyrrha, releasing her younger sister. "That goes for you two as well."

Jaune shrugged, and Pyrrha smiled.

"Your secret's safe with us," she said, looking at Jaune for confirmation. Yang exhaled a little, leaning back onto the hind legs of her chair.

Suddenly, the teacher began to speak. Yang hadn't even noticed the woman walk into the room; instead of paying attention, she whispered to Ruby.

"How'd History go, you little nerd?" she asked, taking care to make sure her voice was low-pitched and low volume. Ruby frowned, looking to the side. _Huh. That's weird. History's her favourite subject. _

"Well," the younger girl began, scratching at her cheek. "We're doing a big project in pairs, on World War I." Yang tilted her head.

"So how come the frown, then?" she pushed, confused. "That sounds right up your alley. What, don't you wanna work in a group?"

Ruby grimaced, refusing to meet Yang's eyes.

"Well, you see….my partner is," Ruby paused, sighing. Yang waited.

"My partner is Weiss Schnee."

Suddenly it all made sense, and Yang felt the fires of fury ignite in her stomach. _That cow!? Really!? _Ruby looked pained as the golden-haired girl clenched her fists tightly, fingernails digging into her palms.

"Couldn't you have chosen a better partner!?" Yang hissed. "Anyone, anyone other than her!?"

Ruby shrivelled under her sister's ire, her head bowing as her confidence dipped.

'Well, I didn't get a choice…" she said, staring at the floor regretfully. "We just got put into groups."

Yang growled, low and deep in her throat, but sat back, trying to pry the anger from her face. _Just calm down. It's not her fault. Ruby hasn't done anything wrong. _She forced a grin, to which Ruby looked up at, nervous but hopeful.

"Sorry for yelling," Yang murmured, ruffling the younger girl's hair.

Ruby smiled, eyebrows creasing together. "It's fine," she said. "I know you two don't…get along."

_That's a very PG way of putting it, little sis. _Yang sighed, frowning and resting her chin on her palm, elbow on the table.

"How big is this project, anyway?" Yang asked. _Maybe it's only a week or two. That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. _

Instead, Ruby grimaced as she said, "…most of this semester?"

Yang's face went bleak. _Of course. Of fucking course. It had to be a huge project, it just had to be, didn't it? I couldn't keep the Ice Queen out of my life for five minutes, now could I? _She slumped her shoulders, drumming her fingers on the table with needless force. _Just perfect. _Ruby looked concerned, but Yang just sighed.

"What a way to start the new semester. Ugh," Yang groaned, lips twisting in a scowl.

"Okay," she said, looking at Ruby. "She doesn't come in the dorm room. Ever. I don't want her god-awful scent anywhere near my stuff."

Weiss Schnee had a particular perfume she always wore, and the smell permeated every inch of her body. Though the lavender-eyed girl had once found it intoxicating, now it just brought a bitter taste to the tongue.

"Don't come into the dorm smelling like her, either. Take a shower or something," she added. Anybody who went into Weiss's dorm usually came out smelling the same as the Ice Queen herself, and Yang didn't want a bar of it.

The younger girl nodded, scratching her cheek.

"Uh, you got it, Yang. Whatever you say," she said, hesitating to smile. Yang grinned back, though it was a little forced. _Ruby's such a good little sister. _Her eyes narrowed as she thought of the source of her anger. _I refuse to let that bitch anywhere near her. Well, any nearer than absolutely necessary. _

At some point, the teacher had begun the lesson, and Yang realised she'd missed a good portion of what exactly they were doing.

"Hey, Pyrrha," she whispered. "What are we doing?"

The green-eyed girl put a hand to her mouth, laughing. She and Jaune exchanged a mirthful look, before replying, "We're studying the Lord of the Flies this year. She's just explaining the main themes now."

Yang mouthed 'Thank You' as she earned a stern look from the teacher. Jaune and Pyrrha snickered even more, though not maliciously. Ruby gave Yang a sly look, and the older girl exhaled with a huff.

The teacher droned on about savagery and civilisation, then psychology of some sort. It didn't fit together in Yang's head – what was with all these damned symbols and motifs and crap? _English is so stupid. _

Thankfully, the lesson ended quicker than she'd expected. Yang stood up slowly, slipping her bag strap over a single shoulder, and grinning.

"I'ma head over to my locker. I'll meet you guys in the Caf for lunch, okay?" she said, looking at her three compatriots. They nodded, waving as Yang strutted out the door, and headed to her locker. Thankfully, they hadn't changed from last semester, and she didn't have to walk far. It was on the second floor of the Social Science block, the floor directly above her.

The stairs were a little crowded, though not as bad as the first period. _Guess kids take it a little easier at lunch, _Yang mused. She passed the first classroom, stopping between the second and third, at Locker 22105. _I still don't get their numbering system. There's no way there's twenty-five thousand lockers in this school. _Yang exhaled as she opened the door, unzipping her bag and placing her Chem and English books inside.

"Let's see, what do I have next…?" Yang murmured to herself as she rummaged around for her timetable in the front pocket of her bag. After a few seconds, she pulled it out, proclaiming victory. _Biology and Phys Ed! Man, I got good classes Monday afternoon. _Suddenly, a figure opened the locker beside her.

Yang moved a little, saying, "Sorry!" as she shifted to the side. As she moved, she caught a glimpse of black, tousled hair. She gazed up at the person next to her, and had to stop her grin from splitting her face in two. It was none other than Blake Belladonna.

Yang turned to her locker, burying her face, which was slowly turning pink. _Oh my god. Blake's got the locker next to mine. This is so great! _She took a moment to breathe, allowing the redness in her cheeks to calm. _Now I have an excuse to see her every day! This is perfect. Absolutely perfect! _Yang stood up, steeling her courage. _I have to talk to her. This is a gift of an opportunity. _

"Uh, hi there," she said, a little nervous, and scratched her cheek absentmindedly. "You're that new exchange student, right?"

The raven-haired girl looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected anyone to make conversation with her.

"Ah, yes, that's me," she said, tilting her head.

"I'm Yang! Nice to meet you!" the golden-haired girl exclaimed, trying not to sound too excited. _Okay. We're talking. Keep it cool, Yang. You got this. _

"Blake," the girl offered, putting her hands behind her back, and looking a little uncomfortable. Yang tried not to frown. _Shit. Am I coming on too strong? _She shook herself internally. _Nah, she's probably just nervous about meeting new people._

"You're French, right?" Yang asked, making sure to keep her voice calm and unpressuring. Blake nodded, amber eyes flitting from side to side, but every now and then fixating on the golden-haired girl.

"So," Yang asked, scratching at her neck nervously and looking away, "How come you transferred? Got any stories to tell?"

Blake shrugged, and said nothing. After a few moments, Yang laughed nervously. _Oops. Better not bring that up again. I guess we all have out things we wanna forget. _

"Well, uh, that's cool if you don't wanna talk about it. Sorry for prying," Yang tried to look a little busy, putting her books for her afternoon classes inside her bag, and shoving her Phys Ed clothes at the bottom. Blake also turned back to her locker, but Yang caught a half-smile playing on the girl's lips as she went about her books.

Moments later, Yang closed her locker, at the same time as Blake.

"So, uh," she said, addressing the raven-haired girl again. Blake tilted her head, anticipant. "You got here last night, right?" Blake nodded, looking at the floor.

"Well, if you don't have anyone to eat lunch with," Yang said, trying and failing to keep the hopefulness out of her voice, "maybe you'd like to come eat with me and my friends? They're cool, I promise!"

Blake shrugged, the half-smile playing on her lips turning into a full one, though hesitant.

"…okay," she said. Yang fistpumped internally. _Yes! Go me! _She darted to Blake's side, nudging the amber-eyed girl's shoulder with her own.

"My group eats in the Caf, so let's go!" the golden-haired girl said, leading the way. _Oh man, this is so great!_ Blake followed behind, hugging her arms. Her face wasn't quite emotionless, but she didn't exactly look happy or sad. She only looked quiet. _That's about the only word to describe her, I guess. Not that I mind at all, hehe. _

"You know, there's about six of us at the moment," Yang started, as they walked down the halls, side-by-side. "Not that many, which is cool, because we're all really close, but that won't be a problem! You'll fit it just great. They'll love you, I promise! There's my sister, Ruby, and she loves everyone, and there's Nora and she's kinda crazy, but she's always with Ren, and he's kinda like the Yin to her Yang – it's weird, but it works! Nora might be a little intense but she's good fun! You'll probably like Ren quite a lot, though. There's also Pyrrha, she's cool! She's got this crazy natural red hair that's not even orange, it's like full-red! Nobody ever believes her when she says it's natural, but I swear I've never seen her roots be any other colour. Either she's really, really sneaky, or it's actually natural. And then there's Jaune, and he's French too! You guys could be great friends, cause y'know, you're both French, so you could talk about French things, maybe? I think Pyrrha knows some French too, so you three could have like little French conversations! That'd be cool. They're all really cool."

Blake's lips formed a half-smile again as she spoke softly, "You…talk a lot."

Yang's face went pink, but she maintained her composure, placing her hands behind her head in a motion that totally was not to hide her embarrassment at letting her nerves get the best of her.

"Yeah, well," she replied, "You hardly talk at all! You just kinda nod or maybe say like one or two words. Wait, am I bothering you with all my talk? Should I just keep quiet?"

Yang's sentences became rollercoaster rides as she changed track five times within each. Blake laughed, and Yang pouted, though she hoped for the best.

"It's fine…." she said, her voice soft. "I'm quiet because…my English…isn't very good."

Yang tilted her head. "Your English is fine! I haven't had any trouble understanding. I mean yeah, you have a bit of an accent, but you should hear Jaune's! His is way thicker than yours, trust me. I don't think there's anything wrong with what you're saying."

Blake stared at the floor, smiling. Yang grinned, realising she'd said something good. _At last. This is good! _

"Thanks…" the raven-haired girl murmured, looking away. Yang just grinned as the two came across the double-doors to the Cafeteria.

"Well," she said, pushing through the doors. "Here they are."

Ruby Rose sat down beside Pyrrha with a thud. The green-eyed girl had arrived first; her locker was right outside the cafeteria, and thus she was always the quickest to arrive. The two greeted each other with a brief 'hey' as the silver-eyed girl placed her tray down, slumping. Jaune was next to arrive, followed by Ren and Nora. Nobody said anything, but instead munched on the lunch of the day: simple hamburgers, with beef patties. Nothing spectacular, but it was food at least.

The rest of the cafeteria was alive with chatter, however, the other kids in the school quite happily gossiping about whichever.

"It's a shame the snow delayed the Vacuo exchange," Pyrrha started, swallowing a bite of hamburger. Ruby nodded, pouting.

"Yeah, it was a shame they weren't the party. It was weird without Neptune, and Sun and the others," she said, shrugging. "I never did get to see Sun climb a tree drunk."

Jaune laughed, and Pyrrha covered her mouth as she let out a chuckle. Nora apparently wasn't listening, instead focussing on eating as much as she could. Ren gave the girl a sideward glance, sighing with false fatigue.

Suddenly, Ruby spotted golden-yellow hair emerging through the double doors of the cafeteria.

"Hey, Yang!" the silver-eyed girl waved, calling her older sister over. Beside the girl, however, was a girl with raven-black hair. _Is that the girl from last night? _Ruby snorted, amused. Jaune and Pyrrha exchanged a knowing look. _That's so her._ The raven-haired girl looked a little aloof, or shy – Ruby couldn't decide which – though Yang didn't seem to mind. The lavender-eyed girl babbled away happily, and her companion nodded every now and then, perhaps murmuring a word or two in response every now and then, but ultimately left the bulk of the conversation to Yang. The golden-haired girl waved at her friends as she heard Ruby's call, and turned excitedly to the girl beside her, talking even more enthusiastically.

"Hi, everyone!" Yang greeted the five kids at the table with great enthusiasm. "Sit here," she said quietly, addressing the raven-haired girl and gesturing to the table beside her. Everyone seemed to perk up at the introduction of a new member to their small table group, Ruby noted as she too gazed at the new arrival.

"Everyone, this is Blake. She's a new exchange student from France," Yang said, spreading her arms in a broad gesture, and then nudging the raven-haired girl with her shoulders. Ruby smiled at the girl, and received a weak smile in return.

"I'm Ruby,' she offered, tilting her head. Pyrrha, Jaune, then Nora and Ren followed suit, introducing themselves in turn. Blake seemed uncomfortable under all of their gazes, though Ruby swore she saw a glint in the girl's amber eyes when she heard Jaune speak.

"_Alors, parles-tu couramment le français?_" Jaune suddenly began to speak in his native tongue, the words flowing much more smoothly than whenever he spoke English. Blake perked up immediately, her eyes glinting.

"_Oui,"_ Blake replied, smiling a little more genuinely than before. _"Ton amie Yang est plutôt excitable, n'est-ce pas?_"

Jaune laughed, then said, "_Yeah, c'est du Yang tout craché. Elle est quand même une bonne amie." _Blake nodded.

Suddenly, Yang interjected, pouting, "Okay, that's cool speaking in frenchy words, but it would be nice if the rest of us could understand what you're saying. I'm trying to learn French, but there's no way I'm that good yet."

Ruby exchanged a quizzical look with Pyrrha. _Since when did Yang start learning French? _Suddenly, the realisation hit her like a ton of bricks, and Ruby smiled, creasing her eyebrows. _Oh, of course. For Blake. _

"Yang, don't be rude," Jaune said. "Let her talk in whatever language she's most comfortable in. It's not like English is her native language,"

Yang stuck her tongue out, but Blake shook her head, waving a hand.

"It's fine," she said, shrugging her shoulders with a half-smile on her face. "I need to…practise my English."

"See?" Yang slung an arm around the amber-eyed girl, grinning. "Blake doesn't mind!"

Jaune rolled his eyes, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Ruby. The silver-eyed girl did the same, mumbling, "Just make sure you don't push her boundaries."

Yang apparently heard her, because she suddenly blew a raspberry at Ruby. Ruby just giggled.

"We were just talking about the delay in the exchange this year," Pyrrha offered, trying to salvage the conversation. Yang nodded, tilted her head.

"Oh, yeah, you don't know about that, do you Blake?" Yang said. The raven-haired girl shook her head, confused.

"It's when a whole bunch of students from Vacuo come over and compete in a huge sports tournament against the sports teams here at Beacon. For example, Yang has her boxing, Pyrrha has her javelin, Nora's good at the discus and shot-put, Ren has his martial arts, and I'm in the sprints," Ruby explained, gesturing to each of the girls in turn. "It's probably not too late to sign up to a team, if you want to. There's a whole bunch of info for signups in the Gym Lobby."

Blake nodded, looking at Jaune. "_Tu ne pratiques pas de sport?_"

Jaune suddenly blushed, leaving the rest of the table to wonder what exactly the girl had said. "_Hé bien, pas de sport physique. Cependant je joue au échecs! C'est un sport! Techniquement._"

Blake giggled, whilst the rest of the table looked confused. Jaune continued to blush, earning a quizzical look from Pyrrha.

"Are you alright…?" she asked, tilting her head. Jaune nodded, refusing to make eye contact, and Ruby chuckled.

"I wouldn't mind…joining the Chess team, if that's okay," Blake said, her words hesitant but more smooth than before. Yang stuck her tongue out, and the rest of the table clued in to what the two had spoken about.

"Chess? Aw, come on, don't you wanna play a proper sport, like boxing? I could totally teach you!" Yang blurted out, earning a frown from Jaune.

"I'll have you know Chess is a perfectly valid sport. Just because you don't know how to play it, doesn't mean it's not a great sport!" The blonde-haired boy protested, palms on the table. Yang smirked, raising an eyebrow as she leant on one elbow. Blake looked uncomfortable being in the middle of a fierce debate, and Pyrrha shot her a sympathetic look.

"Whatever, chess-boy. Just 'cause you can't throw a punch," Yang retorted, shrugging. _Oh my god. Not again. _

"Come on guys, settle down," Ruby said as she stood up, trying to be the pacifying voice. Yang blew another raspberry, to which Jaune frowned again, but both sat down again. Ruby and Pyrrha sighed with relief. _Oh man. Thank god they didn't start again. _Last time the two had fought over 'sports', they'd started a food fight, resulting in the six of them staying up late cleaning the entire cafeteria as punishment for instigating the whole incident. Ruby smiled to herself. _Not that it wasn't fun, though. _

"I heard that the reason the exchange was delayed wasn't because of the snow," Ren suddenly began to speak, "but because the students got caught trying to smuggle drinks with them,"

Yang frowned, disappointed.

"They got caught?" she said, creasing her eyebrows. "Amateurs. I bet it was Sun and Neptune."

The whole table nodded, with the exception of Blake, who looked confused.

"Oh! Sun and Neptune are two friends of ours. They usually come on the exchange," Yang explained, patting Blake's shoulder. "They're sort of daredevils, but they can be a little sloppy."

Ruby laughed, looking at Blake's still confused face, and said, "Don't worry, they're fine. A little impulsive, but good fun. You'll like them."

Blake offered a half-smile in response, but said nothing.

Suddenly, Ruby remembered something. _Shit. _

"Crap," she muttered, staring at her feet. Yang looked over at her quizzically.

"What's up, little sis?" she asked, grinning.

Ruby's face went bleak, and she said, "I haven't talked to Ice Queen about meeting up to do our project. Or, should I say, she avoided me after class."

Everyone sitting around the table's faces took on a sympathetic expression. Yang narrowed her eyes, but kept her tone steady.

"Well, she's over there if you so desperately want to talk to her."

Yang's voice took on a bitter tone as she gestured to where Weiss was sitting, alone, leaving Blake bewildered. Ruby frowned, though she knew Yang wasn't exactly being fair. _I know Yang, and I'm sorry. I don't exactly favour the thought of being partners with her either. _

"Ice Queen?" Blake questioned, confused. Yang glared at the German girl from across the room.

"Weiss Schnee. She's a royal bitch. Everyone just calls her Ice Queen though," Yang's voice adopted a deadly low tone. "You should stay away from her."

Blake looked even more confused. "My roommate? But she seemed…nice…"

Ruby's heart sunk as she watched Yang's eyes widen, and then narrow as the golden-haired girl clenched her fists. _Oh no._

"She's…your roommate?" Yang asked, seeking confirmation. Her voice quivered. Blake nodded slowly as she came to realise the treacherous ground she was standing on. Ruby inhaled, waiting for the bomb to explode.

But then, it didn't.

Yang exhaled, albeit a little forcefully. _Is she…okay? _The golden-haired girl's shoulders slumped, and she leant on the table, folding her arms and resting her head on them.

Collectively, the table released a silent sigh of a relief. _Oh my god. _Ruby laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to offer a little bit of comfort. _At least she didn't get angry again. _Blake looked completely and utterly bewildered, though she kept quiet.

Suddenly, the bell rung. Yang was the first to stand up, though Ruby expected nothing less.

"See ya, guys," she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and forcing a smile. Blake looked at everyone at the table for a brief moment, then darted after Yang.

Ruby exchanged glances with the other members of the table; it was unlike the blonde-haired girl to be so moody. _Oh man, this is not gonna end well. _The others rose, giving each other apologetic looks as they headed off to their respective classes. Ruby pulled the straps of her bag over her shoulders, sighing. _What do I have now? Physics, I think. _

However, as Ruby headed towards the doors of the Cafeteria, her eyes fell on Weiss Schnee, who was eating alone at a table in the corner. Ruby's mouth formed a hard line, but she sighed. _I'm gonna have to talk to her sooner or later, aren't I? _

Forcing cheeriness, she approached the white-haired girl, tapping her on the shoulder as she came close. The Ice Queen glared at Ruby through blue slits, eyebrows creased in disdain. She said nothing, however, and Ruby's smile faltered for a second.

"A-ah! Hi, um, Weiss. I was, uh, just thinking, uh," Ruby stammered, intimidated, "maybe we could, um, start our p-project…tonight?"

The end of her sentence bordered on hopeful, and Ruby prayed she wouldn't become victim to a vicious verbal lashing.

Then, to her utter surprise, Weiss rolled her eyes unhappily, and turned back to her backpack, muttering, "Fine. Meet me in the library straight after fourth period."

Ruby nodded, though she wasn't sure if she still had the Ice Queen's attention. She hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do. _That went…better than expected? At least she didn't yell at me. _

"What are you standing there for?_Auf Wiedersehen__._" Weiss suddenly said, jolting Ruby out of her thoughts. Ruby flushed, embarrassed.

"A-ah, sorry!" she blurted out, turning in the other direction as quickly as she could, and heading through the doors. _So much for not getting yelled at…still, that did go better than I imagined. She didn't ignore me!_

A tiny smile crossed Ruby's face as she pushed open the Cafeteria doors. She didn't know why, but Weiss acknowledging her made her just a little happy. _Looks like I can definitely still enjoy this project!_ The silver-eyed girl felt her heart thud a little with excitement. _This…could be fun, right?_

**Welp, there we are! I'd just like to thank tumblr user lilamala again for the help with Weiss's German. **

_**Auf Wiedersehen - **__**"Auf Wiedersehen" means, literally translated, "Until we meet again". Pronunciation is more or less like this: "Owf Weedersehehn" (Fun fact, "Auf Nimmerwiedersehen" is often used by villains before they kill the hero and it means "So we never meet again")**_

**Also, tumblr user canibalu-ri helped me out with Blake and Jaune's French, so a huge thanks there as well!**

_**Alors, parles-tu couramment le français? – "So, do you speak fluent French?"**_

_**Oui – "I do,"**_

_**Ton amie Yang est plutôt excitable, n'est-ce pas? – "Your friend Yang is a little excitable, isn't she?"**_

_**Yeah, c'est du Yang tout craché. Elle est quand même une bonne amie. – "Yeah, that's Yang for you. She's a good friend, though."**_

_**Tu ne pratiques pas de sport? – "Do you not play any sports?"**_

_**Hé bien, pas de sport physique. Cependant je joue au échecs! C'est un sport! Techniquement. – "Well, not physical sports. I play Chess, though! That's a sport! Technically."**_

_**I really appreciate both of your help 3. Thanks so much!  
As for you guys, dear readers, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think messaging me on my tumblr, seacatsinspace. I'm always looking for headcanons and what not to throw in – plus I dearly love any constructive criticism you have to offer. I hope you have a good day~**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Here we are, guys! Chapter 3 of 55 Minutes, the RWBY exchange/transfer student AU. I'm really sorry about the extra-long wait between Chapters 2 and 3 – I had tournament week, which meant a whole week was taken out of my writing cycle, so I had to hustle to get this out. Well, with no further ado, let me present the third chapter! I hope you all enjoy~**

Blake Belladonna didn't know the full details, but something was bothering her new friend, and as a friend, wasn't it important to go comfort her? The black-haired girl darted after Yang, hoping she wouldn't lose the girl in the crowd. _Please don't run away. _Blake had certainly had enough of people running from her.

Thankfully, she caught sight of golden-hair heading downstairs, so Blake ran after her, ignoring the looks of confusion she received as onlookers watched her run.

"Yang!" she called, finally at the bottom of the steps. The golden-haired girl turned around, biting her lip.

"Blake?"

Her voice was quizzical, and Blake hesitated. _She probably doesn't even want to talk about it. _Yet, despite herself, she found herself mumbling out a response.

"Why did you run off…?" she asked, her voice soft as she feigned confidence in the correctness of her English. "_J'étais un peu inquiète…_"

She suddenly lapsed into French as she spoke, but Yang didn't seem to notice. Instead, lavender eyes gazed at the ground, and the golden-haired girl put a hand behind her head sheepishly.

"Sorry, aha…" she mumbled, avoiding eye contact. "I tend to go off on my own if I get upset…"

_Upset? About Weiss and I being roommates? _Blake didn't know exactly what had gone down between them, but she felt now was not the time to ask.

"_Ne t'inquiète pas__. _Are you okay?" Blake asked, trying to maintain gentleness. Yang was like an animal – cute and happy typically, but ferocious when threatened. It felt like she was walking on eggshells.

Yang stiffened, then forcibly relaxed herself, leading Blake by the hand to a quieter corner of the stairwell. Blake's eyes were filled with nothing but confusion and concern for her new friend as the golden-haired girl exhaled in a sigh.

"It's just…me and Weiss have some bad history." Yang began, gesturing aimlessly with her hands. "We, uh…"

Her lavender eyes glanced to Blake, then away again in a rapid manner, as if the blonde was unsure whether or not to look at her. Then, Yang exhaled, resigning herself. "We went out, for a bit."

"Went out?" Blake tilted her head. _Is that some kind of slang? _Yang flushed a little, clasping her hands behind her back, and looking upwards.

"Uh, y-y'know, like dated." Yang's face turned a slightly darker shade of pink. "You're, ah, you're not weirded out by that at all, are you? That I've dated girls before?" Blake wanted to giggle, though she held it in. _She looks so uncomfortable. Does she really think I care about who she's dated in the past? _

"You're fine," Blake said, smiling. Yang's face lit up, and the girl adopted a slightly uneasy grin.

"Oh, well, that's great- ah, good! That's good! Ah, to hear, and, uh, all…ahahaa…." She trailed off her sentence with a nervous laugh, putting her hand behind her head. Blake smiled, her heart warming. _I'm glad she's not overly upset. _Yang gazed at her, lavender eyes intense but…deep.

"I really like your bow, by the way. It suits you." Yang said. "You kind of look like a kitten."

Instinctively, Blake stiffened, and Yang's face fell.

"…did I say something wrong?" she asked, her voice quiet now. Gone was her usual energy, replaced by gentle, nervous concern.

Blake bit her lip. _It wasn't intentional – she didn't mean anything by it. She doesn't know, and she didn't mean any harm. _She forced herself to exhale, creasing her eyebrows.

"…please don't call me that." Blake muttered, holding her arm. Her amber eyes blinked, and she searched Yang's eyes for any sign of confusion or repulsion. Instead, she only found concern and understanding.

"Oh! I'm really sorry, I didn't know!" Yang blurted out, cheeks turning pink. "I promise I won't call you that ever again, okay? Seriously, I'd much rather you be comfortable than me calling you stupid things…"

The golden-haired girl apologised profusely, and Blake felt a smile creep to her face again. _See? No harm done. Just handle it like that every time. _

"Thank you," Blake said, her voice soft. Yang beamed, her expression hopefully as she returned Blake's smile. Lavender eyes sparkled as the golden-haired girl let out a gentle chuckle.

Suddenly, she panicked.

"Oh no!" Yang glanced at her watch, "I, uh, I really have to get to class. Um, do you know where you're going?"

Suddenly turning flustered again, Yang blabbered, stumbling over her words.

Blake chuckled in response, and said, "I have study now, so I'm fine."

Yang nodded, her face a little serious. "Well, uh, okay, then, ah, bye! I'll see you later!"

The golden-haired girl darted off, grinning but panicking. Blake raised her eyebrows, amused by the girl's limitless energy. _She's a good person, isn't she? _She watched as Yang disappeared around a corner of the hallway, rushing off to her next class. The halls were empty now, class having started minutes ago. _She's not unattractive, either. _Blake's cheeks flushed as an unwelcome thought crossed her mind. _Shut up, you. I don't need to be thinking about that right now. I just need a normal, happy school life. That's what I came here for. _

Still, the black-haired girl couldn't help but smile whenever she thought of her new friend.

Ruby Rose walked through the library doors, her stomach twisting with anticipation. Fourth period had ended only minutes ago, so she'd avoided the post-school library rush, as students raced both in and out, eager to get seats at tables, or to get as far away from the library as possible. It was a little quiet, students having just begun to pack up. _Shoot. Where am I meant to be meeting her, anyway? _The Beacon Library was by no means small, and sometimes navigating the maze of bookcases could be difficult for a newcomer. Thankfully, Ruby had had plenty of experience exploring the labyrinth, leaving only the mystery of where she was meeting Weiss Schnee.

By chance, or perhaps it was planned, Ruby caught the eye of a girl with white hair, sitting in a quiet corner of the library. _Woah, she's already here? _Ruby wondered if the girl had had study the period before, or something. _Either that, or she's really speedy. _Nevertheless, the silver-eyed girl darted over to her partner, nerves boiling in her stomach. She really, really hoped nothing would happen. _It's just a History project, right? We can co-operate that much, surely. Maybe she's not as bad as Yang says! _Despite the multitude of warnings from her motherly older sister, Ruby did, somehow, still want to be friends with Weiss – maybe just a little bit. She hated thinking bad of people, because even though some people did bad things, it didn't mean they were bad. _Well, Yang's one of the best people I know, and even she gets into fights sometimes…and there was that time she set Weiss's uniform on fire…_Ruby stepped up to the table, nerves taking over.

"Ahhh, hiiii! I, um, I brought some really good reference material we can use! I did a little bit of research in study, hehe, I had it third period you see, and I found a whole bunch of really good stuff – lots of it is on the Battle of Liège, so we can get a good headstart and–"

"_Setz dich hin und hör auf, Ramsch zu reden._"

Ruby's words came out in a jumbled heap, her sentences running together as the stumbled over the pronunciation of her words, only to be cut off by a curt remark from Weiss. The icy-eyed girl pointed at the chair beside her with a stony expression. Ruby gulped, taking a seat. _Oh crap. I messed up. I messed up. _Without saying another word, the Ice Queen snatched Ruby's research, looking over it with a critical glance.

After a few tense moments, her eyebrows raised, and she nodded in approval.

"Huh," she said, giving Ruby not quite a smile, but definitely not a frown, in acceptance, "This could be useful. Good work."

Ruby's stomach twisted at the praise. _Yes! I did good! I did good! _For some reason, it made her excited to receive praise from the Ice Queen. _I mean, she never praises anyone ever! _

"Why don't you do the introductory paragraph?" Weiss suggested, continuing to read over Ruby's research. "I'll begin the first paragraph on the Battle of Liège."

Ruby nodded, satisfied she'd managed to establish some sort of working relationship with her partner. As she began to pen an opening paragraph, she occasionally glanced at the girl. Weiss was typing it up on her laptop, a luxury neither Yang nor Ruby could afford. Every so often, the Ice Queen would pause, tilt her head, revealing a slender neck and pale, porcelain skin, her snow-white hair shifting even more to the side. All of a sudden, Ruby wanted to ask why the girl always wore it to the side – yet, at the same time, she didn't feel like it was a good move. _That would probably be…too personal. I'd probably ruin the good little thing we've got going here. _She resorted to sighing internally, returning to her work.

Fifteen minutes later, Ruby had come up with a paragraph she felt was suitable enough. It touched on all the major events of the First World War, without going into too much detail.

"Hey, I'm done. What's next?" she asked, gazing at her partner. Weiss looked up from her laptop, skimming the paragraph Ruby had written. As the girl perused her work, Ruby twiddled her thumbs nervously. Suddenly, she felt an unexplainable tightness in her chest.

"…this will suffice, I suppose," the white-haired girl admitted, nodding in acceptance. The tightness in Ruby's chest vanished.

"So, what now?" Ruby asked, buzzing. _This is good! We're co-operating, and my stuff is up to her standards! Thank god we got paired for History, and not Maths…_

"That's fine. You may go."

The Ice Queen's words came out of…nowhere. Ruby felt like she'd been flicked in the forehead.

"I'm…sorry?"

Weiss's face remained stony as she returned to typing at her laptop, occasionally referencing Ruby's research.

"I said, you may leave. You've contributed something to the assignment, so you may leave. I'm fine to finish this assignment on my own from here, thank you."

Ruby's face fell as she registered the blue-eyed girl's words. _She…doesn't want to work with me? But…we were doing so well…_

"B-bbut…we were meant to do it together…" Ruby failed to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Weiss just curled her lip.

"_Um Himmels willen._ I'm telling you, your help is not necessary. So, please, leave me to work. _Raus._"

Just like that, she returned to her laptop as if she hadn't done anything. Ruby felt…wounded. _So she really doesn't want to work with me..._

"But…"Ruby protested weakly, staring at her feet.

Suddenly, Weiss whipped around, practically growling. Ruby flinched away, intimidated.

"Quite frankly, I don't want to work with the sister of that Xiao-Long girl. So kindly get out of my sight. _Raus!_"

Her words were curt, short, sharp, and like blades, they cut into Ruby. She stood up, slowly, and walked away, barely remembering to sling her bag over her back. _I just wanted to…work together…_She shoved her way through the library double doors, trying not to let tears creep to her eyes. She couldn't let Yang see her cry. _"I told you, baby sister." That's exactly what Yang would say._

It wasn't fair. _I love History…but why…? Why won't she let me help? I'm good at History! It's pretty much the reason I got put up two years…well, alongside Physics and my sprints._ Ruby's heart sunk further with every consecutive thought, the tightness in her chest returning. _Stupid project. Stupid Weiss. _She released a sigh, wiping her eyes. _Stupid me. _

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"…Ruby?"

It was Nora, of all people. Concern was written all over the older girl's face, her usual energy replaced by mellowness once she acknowledged a friend was in trouble.

Ruby's face crumpled, and wordlessly, Nora took her by the hand, leading her away from the library and crowds. The hallways wound around them, Ruby staring at her feet, hurt.

They didn't stop until they were in the safety of Nora and Pyrrha's dorm. Pyrrha was absent, leaving only the two girls.

"What happened?"

Nora's voice gently touched Ruby's ears, wrapping around the girl with warmth and concern. They sat side-by-side on the older girl's bed, not quite touching, but close enough for comfort. Ruby shuffled her feet, a little unsettled by Nora's…normality.

"I, uh, started working on the project with the Ice Queen," Ruby said, biting her lip and scratching her head. "It didn't go, uh, the greatest. Kind of stupid, huh?"

Nora's face stiffened slightly as she listened, wincing.

"I don't know what you expected…" Nora said, glancing at the younger girl. "You know how Yang and Weiss feel about each other."

Ruby nodded, kicking her feet.

"Yeah, I know…" she pouted, eyes sagging, "…I guess I just kinda hoped we'd be able to get along as workmates? She kicked me out of the project, said she'd do it by herself. I just…"

The younger girl sighed, and Nora grinned cheerily.

"Why the long face? You're guaranteed a good mark on your project, and you don't have to deal with the Ice Queen!" Nora nudged Ruby with her elbow, "You can even keep building that little robot of yours in your spare time, now that the project is out of the way."

Ruby wanted to smile alongside her, but disappointment continued to mar her face.

"I guess," Ruby mused, staring at the carpet on the floor of the dorm room, "I just really want to do this project. It's World War One, and it's super interesting…"

Nora twisted her mouth, unsure how to react. Suddenly, the door opened, and Pyrrha walked in, surprised to find the two already inside.

"Oh, hello Ruby. What are you doing here?"

Pyrrha's voice was quizzical, and the redhead tilted her head. Nora summarised for her.

"Basically, the Ice Queen told her she'd do their History project on her own, and Ruby's bummed because she really wanted to do it."

Pyrrha frowned, sitting on Ruby's other side, placing a gentle hand on the younger girl's back. Nora began to hum to herself, having apparently lost interest.

"Perhaps you could talk to her?" the green-eyed girl suggested. Ruby shook her head fervently.

"She doesn't even want to talk to me," Ruby muttered, "Just because I'm Yang's sister. She thinks I'm stupid, too. She seemed really surprised when I wrote our introductory paragraph."

_It's not like I got moved up two years because I'm good at History or anything, is it? _Pyrrha frowned, folding her arms.

After a few moments of a deliberation, she began to speak.

"Perhaps," Pyrrha mused, "If you were to prove to her you were competent enough, she'd accept your assistance. She's being very unfair, however."

Ruby nodded. _Unfair is right…still, it's a good suggestion. _

"Do you think it'll work, you guys?" Ruby turned to her two friends, eyes wide with worry. Pyrrha nodded, arms folded.

Nora grinned, balancing a pen on her nose.

"Maybe. Besides, if it doesn't," the girl flipped the pen up in the air with a flick of her head, and snatched it out of the air with one hand and a devilish grin. "We'll burn her uniform!"

Ruby giggled, and Pyrrha let out a fond smile.

"Didn't Yang already do that?" Pyrrha asked, looking at Ruby for confirmation. The silver-eyed girl nodded.

"Oh." Nora's expression went blank. Pyrrha and Ruby just laughed harder.

"Thanks, guys," Ruby said as she turned towards the door. The two roommates smiled and waved, Nora yelling an enthusiastic "You're welcome!" as Ruby shut the door behind her.

_Alright. I just have to write a really, really good paragraph. I can do this!_

Yang Xiao Long stretched out her limbs, musing over the first day back at school. _The second semester is usually such a drag, but today was…really good. _She was alone in her dorm room, having completed the tiny bit of homework her Chem teacher had set her already, and had been staring at the ceiling for far longer than she'd have cared to admit.

The golden-haired girl yawned, though she wasn't at all tired, and smiled to herself, grin reaching from ear to ear. _Oh man, I did good today. Blake is so pretty and hot and beautiful and so nice and she likes meeee~ I did good. This was a good day. _She chuckled to herself, completely satisfied with how things had turned out.

It was already past 5:00pm; Yang had been sitting here, alone for a while. Yet, somehow, it was a teeny bit refreshing to have a bit of alone time – not too often, but every now and then? Yang could appreciate that. Sometimes it was important to reflect. _Hehe. Reflect on how hot that Bellabooty is, maybe. That's pretty important! _Despite how physically attractive Blake was, Yang still felt a pull to the girl she couldn't explain. She hadn't felt it at first, but now after talking to the girl? There was definitely…something. Yang's face flushed as she thought about it. _Oh man, oh man, oh man, she's so hot and so nice and so pretty and so caring and ahhhh she's just great. _Pink was painted across her cheeks, but the lavender-eyed girl didn't care. Who was around to see her? _Another of the benefits of alone time, I suppose. Ain't nobody around to judge you when you're being all weird and hot over someone. _

Still, beyond how much Yang loved them, she wondered what lay behind those cryptic amber eyes. Usually, Yang could get a good reading on someone just by paying them proper attention, and maybe it was the fact she couldn't think straight when face-to-face with the girl, but she just couldn't tell what was on Blake's mind. _At least she doesn't mind me being into girls, though…that's definitely a positive! Maybe she's…? _Yang shook her head. _…nah. Probably not. It'd be nice to dream, though. _Yang's face went bright red as she realised where her train of thought was headed, and promptly crashed it. _What am I thinking!? I've only known her for, what, six hours, and I'm already planning how to ask her out? What's wrong with me!? _

The golden-haired girl rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow. _Ugh. I'm so gaaaaaaay. _After a few moments, she surfaced for breath, flipping onto her back again. _I wonder why she didn't like being called kitten? _Yang scratched her head, staring bleakly at the wall. _Maybe it's something to do with her past, or something. Maybe she had a past lover who called her that? Or maybe a family member died? I don't know…_Yang searched her mind for possibilities, but she couldn't eliminate even one. She just didn't know enough about the girl.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Yang's thoughts were interrupted. Ruby stepped in, looking a little dishevelled, and dumped her schoolbag beside the desk, a bunch of papers in her hands.

"Hey, Ruby! How was the first day of school?" Yang asked, sitting up all a sudden, her troubles momentarily ignored in the excitement of her sister coming back home.

Ruby winced, forcing a smile. "Uh, good, I guess?"

Yang raised an eyebrow, frowning knowingly. "You sound a little unsure there, little sis. What happened?"

Ruby waved her hands, eyebrows creased and smile undoubtedly forced. "No, really," she said, not making contact, "Everything's fine. I just have some homework I need to do –"

Yang grinned, swinging her legs off of the bed.

"Well, if you won't just tell me," she said, a playful tone to her words, "I'm going to tackle it out of you!"

Ruby crashed to the floor as Yang threw herself as her younger sister, tackling her to the ground. The golden-haired girl then straddled her stomach, and reached out to tickle her neck. Ruby's eyes went wide.

"W-wait, Yang, what are you doing? Stop!" Ruby protested feebly, unable to move.

Yang's grin intensified as she narrowed her eyes. "I'm coming closer~"

"Stop it!"

"Here I come~"

"Yang!"

"I'm gonna get you~"

Yang began to tickle Ruby's neck, and the younger girl began to squirm uncontrollably, trying not to laugh (or cry?).

"Pffffffffffffthahaha – okay okay I'll talk! Just stop!" Ruby finally relented. Yang disappointedly withdrew her hands, sitting back up, and releasing her sister. Ruby panted, a little lost for breath after her older sister's tickle attack.

"You. Are. So. Annoying." Ruby breathed, glaring at Yang. The golden-haired girl just grinned all the harder, ruffling her younger sister's hair affectionately.

"So, tell me what's on your mind," Yang said, leaning back on her hands, legs folded. Ruby looked uncomfortable again, but Yang maintained her easy smile. "Come on, you promised."

Ruby Rose sighed, closing her eyes as she prepared for a shitstorm.

"Well…"

She sighed, resigning herself. _Here we go. _

"You see," she said, tone bleak, "I really wanted to do our History project together, but Weiss kicked me out. Of the project, that is."

She opened her eyes, just a little, only to see Yang on her, and heading towards the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby called, scrambling to her feet and darting to her sister's heels. The golden-haired girl's face was filled with quiet certainty, but her eyes were pools of well-restrained rage. The skin on her face was taut, her jaw set as Yang marched down the hallway. Ruby tagged along, waving her hands in panic, papers still in her hands.

"I'm going to give the Ice Queen what she's got coming." Yang's voice was filled with venom, and she practically spat out each word as they tasted foul in her mouth.

Ruby tugged at Yang's arm, trying to get her to stop.

"Yang, this really isn't that big of a deal!" she said, anxiety filling her heart. "You don't need to do this!"

However, Yang just brushed off Ruby's attempts at stopping her, halting her steps right outside a dormitory door. _Oh no oh no oh no I gotta make her stop Weiss is going to yell at me again they're going to fight oh no oh nooooooooo!_

"Yang, stop!" Ruby cried, tugging with all her might at her sister's arm, trying desperately to stop her and to pull her back. "Yang!"

Instead of listening, the golden-haired girl ripped her arm from Ruby's grasp, and knocked forcefully on the door. Ruby stood, rooted to the ground in panic and dread. _Oh no. Here it comes. Oh god. _

The door opened, slowly, and pensive blue eyes met with vengeful lavender eyes, and then fearful silver eyes. In a split second, the door was thrown open, and Yang was gripping Weiss by the collar, holding her up with the strength of a boxer.

"Yang, please, stop! You're gonna hurt her!" Ruby cried, tugging at Yang's shirt. Weiss sneered, despite her fragile position.

"A couple of bruises won't hurt her."

Suddenly, Yang doubled over, dropping her airborne prisoner as Weiss Schnee delivered her a mighty kick to the stomach. The Ice Queen landed elegantly on the floor, then swung a punch at her assailant, throwing her body behind it. Yang caught it, and the two struggled against each other, neither gaining ground.

"_Willste 'n Veilchen, Miststück_? What did I do this time? Hmm? _Ignorante Schlampe_." Weiss taunted, narrowing her eyes.

Yang growled, overpowering the Ice Queen, and holding her up against the wall of her dorm room.

"You and my sister _will _work together on your stupid History project, or I'll smash your face in again. Capiche?" the golden-haired girl snarled, thrusting her face into Weiss's.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and Blake Belladonna walked out, drying her hair with a towel, dressed in pyjamas. Everyone in the room froze as the amber-eyed girl slowly pieced together what was happening. Ruby's heart sunk. _Oh, no. Oh no no no no no._

Yang released the girl she was holding, and Weiss slid down the wall, coming to a sitting position on the floor. The golden-haired girl panicked, stumbling for words.

"Blake, I – uh, you see – well, I –,"

"I…" Blake said, her voice thick, "…think you should leave."

The colour drained from Yang's face, and she walked out of the room, closing it quietly behind her. Blake's eyes fixed upon Ruby, and the younger girl stood stiff, rooted to the ground like a tree. _Oh god, please don't yell at me. _Instead, the black-haired girl tilted her head.

"Why are you here…?" she asked, her voice still thick, but somewhat more composed. Ruby internally panicked, unsure how to respond. _I, uh, followed my sister and tried to stop her and your roommate having a fistfight? How am I meant to say that!?_

Unexpectedly, Ruby heard Weiss's voice answer.

"It's fine. She's my guest," the Ice Queen said, dusting herself off. Blake nodded, heading towards her bed and picking up a book, apparently accepting of such a response. Then, the icy-eyed girl approached Ruby, a hard look on her face. The silver-eyed girl was stiff, unsure. Then, Weiss raised an eyebrow, folding her arms._ Oh no oh god oh no. _

"Well?" Weiss prompted, gesturing for Ruby to speak.

"Uhhhhhh….." Ruby began, hesitantly. The Ice Queen stared at Ruby expectantly.

Ruby's face flushed a little as she inhaled, then blurted out, "Well I just really wanted to do this History project because I really love History and World War One is so cool because it was like, the very first world war and there were loads of cool weapons and battles and it's just the coolest topic ever so I really wanted to study it and I was really excited in class today when our teacher said we'd be doing a huge project on it but then I got you as a partner and I got really nervous because you probably hate me because you hate Yang and I'm her sister so I was really scared of you and then you glared at me and that freaked me out but I tried to be brave and come do the project with you and I managed to talk to you properly and that was good, and you said my research was good and that made me really happy because you never praise anyone and you even said my opening paragraph was okay and that's like double good but then you told me you didn't want to work with me anymore and made me leave and I got really upset and I don't know why but then Nora accosted me in the hallways and she and Pyrrha told me to write more good stuff and maybe you'd let me help again so I worked on them for ages until I was happy and then I got back to our room and I was still upset so Yang asked me what was wrong and I didn't want to tell her but then she tickled me until she made me talk so I told her what you said and she got really mad and marched over here without saying anything and I tried to stop her I really did but I couldn't and then she barged in here and started fighting with you and I got really panicked and then you tried to punch her and then she held you up against the wall and then Blake walked in and then Yang left and I just really really really really really want to do this project so please please please let me help you I promise I won't be a burden just look at my paragraph…please?"

Ruby gasped for breath, holding out the papers in her hand. Weiss's eyebrows were sky-high, and the older girl rolled her eyes, breathing heavily.

"_Mein Gott_, do you always talk this much?" Weiss stretched her words, taking the papers from Ruby's hand and glancing at them. After a few tense moments, she sighed.

"Look," she said, rubbing her temples. "I may have been a little…harsh this afternoon. It was cruel of me to exclude you like that. This is our project, and I suppose you do have a right to assist me."

Ruby's heart throbbed.

"So," she said, "If this project is going to get done, we may as well do it…together."

Ruby let out a squeak, and launched herself into an aggressive hug with the Ice Queen squeezing the older girl.

"Yes! Thanks, Weiss!" she said, voice mellow but satisfied. Weiss gently eased the younger girl off of her, holding her at arms distance. Ruby grinned, excitement filling her veins. _Yes yes yes! I get to do the project!~ This is so great! _

Weiss's face, however, was deadly. "Do not," she growled, "even consider mentioning your sister under any circumstances, however. I think you know why."

Ruby nodded, her excitement unfazed.

"Now," Weiss continued. "I suggest you return to your own room because _some _of us are trying to get ready for bed. We can continue work in class tomorrow. _Good night_."

Ruby nodded again, grinning from ear-to-ear as she strutted out the door. _Ah, I'm so excited! Even if it is with Weiss, this is going to be so much fun!_

She couldn't keep the grin off of her face as she walked down the halls, heading back towards her own room, yawning all the while.

**Crikey! Well, there we are ^-^. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. It was a pleasure to write, because babbling Rose-Xiao Longs are simply the best. Puppies, the both of them. I'd like to thank tumblr users lilamala and canibalu-ri again for their wonderful work with helping me translate Weiss's German and Blake's French in this Chapter c:.**

_**J'étais un peu inquiète… **_**\- I was a little worried…**

_**Ne t'inquiète pas. **_**– It's fine.**

_**Setz dich hin und hör auf, Ramsch zu redden. –**_** Sit down and stop talking trash (trash equals nonsense).**

_**Um Himmels willen. – **_**For God's sake.**

_**Raus**_**. – Get out.**

_**Willste 'n Veilchen, Miststück?**_** – You want a blue eye, bitch? (Weiss is talking a little bit ghetto here. She's…less than classy in a fight.)**

_**Ignorante Schlampe.**_** – Ignorant slut. (This is ironic from Yang's perspective, for reasons I know and you don't. Hehehe.)**

_**Mein Gott.**_** – My god. **

**Thanks a bunch for reading this story, and please remember to follow/favourite/review! It really makes me day when people let me know they enjoy my story, and I'm always seeking constructive criticism. Until the next chapter~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh god, I am so sorry this took so long. Don't even talk to me about my writing schedule, it is absolutely ridiculous. I got a massive, 2-week-long writer's block, which was horrendous because so many times I tried to write the first scene between Weiss and Blake, only to scrap it completely. Oh well, though because it's here now! Thank you all so much for your comments and the like; I really love hearing from y'all as readers. There's nothing I love more than feedback! As always, enjoy Chapter 4 of 55 Minutes, the RWBY exchange/transfer student AU!**

Weiss Schnee exhaled as her all-too-perky partner slammed the door behind her. _God help me, I may have just made a huge mistake. _She rubbed her temples, turning back to her bewildered roommate. Blake's eyes were wide, her eyebrows creased in anger and blatant hurt.

"I suppose you'd like to know what all that was about, right?" Weiss asked, tilting her head and raising one eyebrow.

"I'd appreciate that," Blake said, folding her arms and nodding. As soon as the word left her mouth, it formed a sideward frown that only served to demonstrate Blake's lack of comfort. The towel was still around her neck, her hair still damp, and she smelt clean. Cleanliness was something Weiss could appreciate, even if her new roommate did have unpleasant connections with the Rose-Xiao Long sisters. She sat down on her bed, and gestured for Blake to do the same.

"If you didn't already know, I made the mistake of dating that _schlampige Zicke_ in my sophomore year," Weiss said, staring at her fingernails and scowling. "And believe me, mistake is putting it lightly. We dissolved our relationship on less than pleasant terms, and she's had it in for me ever since."

The white-haired girl slumped her shoulders, exhaling. _And_ _schlampige Zicke_ _is putting it lightly, too. _Looking across at her roommate, seated the bed opposite, she saw Blake's face twist in confusion.

"Dissolved…?"

Occasionally, Weiss forgot the girl's trouble with slang. _It must be difficult, coming to an English-speaking school from a French-speaking country. _She felt it was her duty to assist the girl as much as she could. They were roommates, after all.

"It means '_on a rompu_'. Dissolved our relationship is merely a euphemism," Weiss offered, trying to explain in a way the girl felt comfortable with. Blake nodded, her eyes still wary.

"She told me that, too," Blake replied, looking to the side as if in hesitance. "But, why…?"

The girl glanced at Weiss, begging her with amber, quivering eyes to offer an explanation for the less-than-pleasant situation that had occurred only moments ago. The white-haired girl's eyes narrowed in disgust, though she kept the rest of her face composed. _Don't tell me that foul creature has already…? _She quickly calmed the ill rising in her stomach, reassuring herself. _Impossible. Not even she could, not that quickly. Besides, Blake doesn't seem the type to just give herself away…_

"Because of what I just explained. Even the littlest things will earn the largest of overreactions with her. Today, it was a slight on my part towards her sister. Once she learned of it," Weiss shrugged, eyes narrowed in boredom, "That was all it took for her to assault me. I really should learn not to step on her toes, lest she decides to take more drastic measures."

Weiss stared at her nails, any emotion other than blank discontent absent from her face. Blake looked horrified, her lips quivering under the weight of Weiss's words. The black-haired girl kept her gaze fixed on her roommate, shoulders hunched over, her knees pressed together and her feet pointed at each other. _Oh, for God's sake._

"By drastic measures, I was referring to her setting my uniform on fire," Weiss raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "Again."

Blake's expression changed from concern to amusement in an instant.

"She…burned your uniform?" The girl asked, raising an eyebrow. Weiss sighed again. _Here we go. _

"I was stupid enough to leave it in the changing room whilst I trained," she said, grimacing. "When I got back, I was greeted with cinders outside. I don't know how the teachers didn't notice."

The white-haired girl's finger pressed against her forehead in a gesture of exasperation. Blake's eyebrows raised in amusement. Weiss rolled her eyes, shrugging her shoulders as she leant back on her hands.

"Well, there you have it," she said, "The reason that _Biest_ and I despise each other."

Blake looked disappointed, for some reason. _Ugh. She was probably hoping I'd done something wrong. That honey-coloured gorilla sure manages to find a way to worm her way into everyone's heart, doesn't she? _Weiss's thoughts were bitter, as she came to the conclusion that even her own roommate had been won over. _She takes everything I have, and ruins it. It's not fair. _Still, Weiss sighed. There was nothing she could do about it now. All she could do was try and build a relationship with Blake, and hope that Yang Xiao Long didn't ruin it.

"Blake, would you happen to play Chess? Dinner's not far away, but we could begin a game." she asked, swinging her legs down from the bed and approaching the bookshelf, where she kept the game board.

Blake smiled, standing up.

"I saw the board when I came in; I thought you would never ask."

"Yang!" Ruby called from outside the door. "Let me in!"

Ruby had strutted back to her dorm room, only to find her darling elder sister had shut herself up inside, door locked.

"Go away! Go hang out with Pyrrha and Nora!" was the voice that responded from inside, angry and, as Ruby knew, a little hurt. _Not this again. Yang, why? _The silver-eyed girl whined internally.

"Yang, I'm going to keep shouting until you let me in." she said, rolling her eyes. It was past six; dinner was in a few minutes, and Ruby felt a duty to make sure the girl ate properly. Yang typically ate like an adolescent male – a trait the Rose-Xiao Long sisters shared – and tended to get a little moody when she didn't eat. Which was when she get moody. It was a never-ending cycle, and a cruel one for anybody around her. _Come on, Yang. _

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaang, open uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup!" Ruby whinged in her best whiny little sister voice.

"Go away, Ruby."

Ruby sighed, hitting her forehead lightly against the door. _Uuuuughhhhh. I hate it when she gets like this. _

"Come on Yang, it's freezing out here," Ruby moaned, rubbing her arms. Their school uniform wasn't exactly built for warmth, and considering their entire dorm block was made out of concrete, neither was the building.

"No."

Her answer was blunt, curt, and to the point. Ruby sighed, for around the fifth time since realising she'd been locked out.

"Yang!"

"Go away, Ruby."

Irritation growing as the conversation continued in circles, Ruby kicked the door. Surprisingly, it gave a rather pleasant-sounding thud as her foot made contact. _Hehe. That felt kinda good. _She repeated the action, for good measure.

"Yang, if you don't open up, I'm gonna kick the door down."

Without waiting for a response, she kicked the door again, delighted to see the wood bend just a little at the impact. _Now I kinda see why Yang loves boxing so much. This is sorta fun. _She kicked it again, and again, and again, each kick a little harder than its predecessor. The door didn't budge, but it was somehow therapeutic to kick it over and over again, even if she could Yang's muffled protests from the other side of the door.

Then, suddenly, the door opened, and Ruby's foot was caught by a dark expression. Yang looked at her younger sister with dismay.

"You win, Ruby," she sighed, looking more exhausted than anything else. "What do you want?"

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Access to my room would be nice."

Yang just sighed, finally allowing Ruby to enter. The silver-eyed girl strutted in, sitting down on her bed and kicking her feet. Yang shut the door behind her, locking it.

"You know, we've got dinner in five minutes." Ruby pointed out, gesturing to the clock on the wall. It was digital, ergo they were spared the constant ticking of a regular clock. Yang just shrugged, belly flopping on her own bed, opposite.

"I'll come down soon. Go ahead of me," the golden-haired girl said, the words muffled into her pillow.

"You promise you're going to come?" Ruby asked, raising an eyebrow as she headed for the door.

"Yes, Ruby," Yang's voice dripped with sarcasm, but the words at least seemed genuine. _If she doesn't come, I'll drag her down. _Ruby giggled to herself as she slipped out the door, finding the possibility quite amusing.

The hallways were boring as usual, though students were starting to make their way to the cafeteria for dinner. Some were still in uniform, and some in mufti. It wasn't a rule that you had to attend dinner in uniform, but it was encouraged. However, if you had training for your particular sport, there was no point getting back into it after showering. Hence, there was an odd mix of clothing.

Ruby opened the doors to the cafeteria to find Jaune and Ren already sitting down, and they waved as they caught sight of her. Ren was in mufti, indicating he'd had martial arts after school, but Jaune was still in uniform. _They're an odd pair, aren't they? _Jaune and Ren looked the most unlikely of friends – one was a silent, strong type, the other a blabber mouth, one was a talented martial artist, the other…less so – but apparently roommate bonding had done them well, even if Jaune made up the bulk of the relationship.

"Hey guys," Ruby said as she took a seat opposite the boys, "what's up?"

They shrugged in unison, a testament to how close they'd become.

"Not much," Jaune offered, then tilted his head. "Yang's not with you?"

Ruby shook her head, and said, "She promised she'd be down in a minute."

Jaune and Ren exchanged a look, raising their eyebrows. Realisation dawned on their faces, and Jaune grinned.

"Ah, is she picking up her new lady friend along the way, is she?" he said, laughing a little to himself. "I wish I had some of her charisma. Weiss won't even look at me." Ruby's face went a little pallid, and Jaune raised an eyebrow.

"…did I say something wrong?" he asked, scepticism darting into his voice.

"Uh," Ruby started, grimacing, "I don't know if Blake's going to eat with us. They're sort of fighting."

Ren grimaced in return, and Jaune rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Whoo," the blonde-haired boy said, wincing, "Trouble in paradise already? What about?"

It was Ruby's turn to scratch the back of her head like a bashful panda.

"Well, uh, it's kind of about me and Weiss."

She quickly recounted the events for the two boys, grimacing again. The expression was mutual across the table as she finished.

"It's good that you and Weiss made up," Ren offered, trying to make the best of the situation. Nora rubbed off on him sometimes, Ruby supposed.

"Well, here she comes," Jaune said, gesturing towards the doors as Yang stepped through. Gone was the angry, miserable look; the girl had returned to her omnipresent sunny smile. _She's…smiling? _Ruby felt a little confused, but decided to roll with it.

"Hey guys!" Yang cheerfully addressed them, taking a seat next to Ruby. "Queues aren't open yet?"

Jaune shook his head, shrugging. "They're taking a while today, dunno why."

Ruby looked at Yang curiously. All of a sudden she was recounting some hilarious story from earlier in the day, earning laughter from everyone, and happily greeting Pyrrha and Nora as they showed up. What had happened to her angst from before? _She's doing it again, isn't she? _Yang had a habit if shoving her own problems under a rug, and putting on a happy face. Ruby had no idea how to handle her when she got like that. It was just impossible – how could she help fix a problem Yang supposedly didn't have?

Even so, the silver-eyed girl didn't miss the way her elder sister's muscles tensed a little when Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna walked past their table. Jaune and the others waved at the black-haired girl, Nora calling out "Hi Blake!" as the girl walked past. Blake waved at them in return, though her enthusiasm visibly dropped as she looked at Yang. Weiss took a seat a few tables away, and Blake sat opposite her. Ruby also didn't miss the way Yang made sure her eyes were elsewhere as the duo walked past. Thankfully, none of the others made any note of it, if they noticed at all, and suddenly the conversation resumed, Yang instantly as bouncy and happy as before.

_I guess it's fine if she wants it to be like this, right? _Ruby smiled and giggled as Yang cracked her fourth pun of the night – "Come on, _Jaune _in the punfest!" – laughing all too hard at her own joke. She's_ enjoying herself. There's no point in upsetting that, is there? _

Eventually, they got up, grabbing dinner for themselves. Tonight, it was spaghetti and meatballs – a classic. The whole cafeteria giggled as Jaune dropped his first plate on the floor, after a 'gentle' nudge from Cardin. He took it good-naturedly, though, grabbing a second plate and making sure to hold on tight.

"He's an ass," Nora commented as the six sat down. Pyrrha nodded, patting her best friend on the back.

"Don't worry about it, Jaune," the red-haired girl said, smiling sweetly at him in a sympathetic manner. "Cardin is just cruel."

Jaune waved them off shrugging, "Eh, I've been through worse."

Ren suddenly spoke up, changing the topic, "I heard the exchange students are going to be arriving next week."

The whole table suddenly lit up at his comment, grins spreading across faces all around.

"Hey, that means we'll get to see Neptune and Sun again soon!" Yang said, delight spreading across her face, "I kind of missed those buttheads."

Ruby grinned, nodding. Even though they'd only met Sun the year before, Neptune had been a friend of the group for a long time. Even if he played himself off as a bit of a playboy, he was at heart a decent guy, and got along well with everyone. _Shame they missed the party, though. Neptune always was good at a party. _The chatter turned to excited babble about seeing old friends, and competing against them once again. The hour droned on, until the group realised they'd been eating for half an hour, and it was already 8.00pm. Plates had already been licked clean, but laundry closed at 9.00pm.

"Yang, we better go. We haven't done laundry yet." Ruby said, gesturing towards the door. Yang glanced at her, lavender eyes shining.

"Yikes, is it that late already? See ya, everyone." Yang waved goodbye, and Ruby bade farewell in turn. The two dumped their plates at the dirty dishes window; the plates disappeared almost instantaneously.

The two sisters walked in silence towards their dorms; if Yang had anything she wanted to bring up, she kept silent. Though Ruby sort of wanted to know what Yang's deal was, she didn't feel any oppressive need to know. _I guess she'll tell me if she wants to._

When they reached their dorm, Yang smiled, grinning like a hyena, and said, "You take the first shower. I'll take care of the laundry,"

One advantage, Ruby noted, of rooming with her sister, was that there was no awkwardness when it came to laundry. Either could do both sets, simplifying things. Ruby recalled back in the day when they'd first met Pyrrha and Nora, as nervous freshman, and had realised the two were too embarrassed to save money and do their laundry together. She was pretty sure Ren and Jaune still did so. _I will never understand boys. _

"Oh, thanks!" Ruby called as she grabbed her towel. "I'll do it on Thursday, then," she offered. Yang bleated out a thanks before disappearing. The silver-eyed girl rustled around for her toiletries bag, before eventually locating it under Yang's towel. _Has she been stealing my shampoo again? This has got to stop._ Even if Beacon was an excellent academy, Ruby missed only having to share a shower with three people. Communal showers weren't exactly what she would have chosen, but it was manageable. _Provided Yang stops stealing my shampoo. _Ruby giggled to herself as she set out, locking the door behind her.

Yang Xiao Long kept a happy smile plastered on her face as she walked down the hallways, arms full of dirty laundry, and stared at the cream walls disdainfully. She wasn't in the best of moods, but she didn't need to let the outside world know about that. Ruby probably had caught on, but she was the only one.

There definitely were advantages to rooming with your sister, Yang supposed.

Still, things weren't always peachy, and as always, it seemed to come down to Weiss Schnee. Directly, or indirectly, the girl had a way of messing up a number of things in Yang's life. _First she's being rude to my sister, and now she's trying to get in with the girl I like. _Well, she wasn't exactly renowned for her acts of kindness. Even so, Yang knew a different side of her. Maybe she was a fool for hoping for something other than the cold treatment Weiss gave anyone and everyone, but the golden-haired girl couldn't help it. _I guess once you break up some relationships, you never stop breaking up. _

Even so, Yang knew in her heart the Ice Queen wasn't to blame for the latest incident. Despite how much she wanted to offload the responsibility onto her greatest enemy, she couldn't. It wasn't right, and as much as she hated it, she couldn't be that dishonest to herself. _As much as she was involved, it's not Weiss's fault. It's mine. _Yang ran a hand through her hair as she mulled it all over, descending the stairs to head towards the ground floor. _She may be a bitch, but I started the fight. _As a boxer, she felt it was only natural that she look to her fists every time she needed to solve a problem. At least, that was her excuse. Truth was, she loved fighting. There was something thrilling about putting your whole body on the line, and gaining victory with only your own strength. _Maybe I think of life too much like a video game. I should…wise up. _

The Rose-Xiao Long siblings didn't have any in their dorm, but back at home, they'd always be competing over some game – whether it be Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, Pokemon, anything.

_A lot of things in life are like a game. I guess it's foolish to think of life as only a game though. _In the end, she knew that casualties were real, and any injuries couldn't be healed by a Super Potion. There were no extra lives. _I probably should've realised that from the time Weiss and I put each other in the hospital, huh? _

Moments after their relationship officially broke apart, Yang and Weiss fought. Physically, fist-to-fist, nail-to-nail. It was Weiss who lunged first, with a half-hearted punch, but Yang was angry, and she intended to finish it.

By the time the teachers had gotten there, Weiss's face was heavily swollen, her lips streaming blood, and Yang's fingers were bent back at an unnatural angle, her cheek covered in bloody scratches. They were pulled apart, but the fight had never been finished.

Yang supposed that was the start of all that hostility. Had they never fought, maybe they would have been on better terms. Perhaps they would have been able to fix things. _Ah, who am I kidding? We both know there's far more to the story than 'we fought, we hate each other'. A lot more. _She scoffed at her own naivety as she entered the laundry room. It was mostly empty, much to her surprise. Then again, some were probably still eating, or showering. _Could be either. _

Yang sighed as she shovelled her clothes into the machine, turning it on and leaning back against it. Whilst Beacon provided scholarships to a vast number of its students, Ruby and Yang included, there were some excess costs – such as laundry. As such, the sisters always made sure to keep cash on them – coins, ideally, but the occasional note could be exchanged via a vending machine. _Now I just have a wait an hour or so. _The most frustrating part of laundry, perhaps, was having to wait for it to finish. Usually, the sisters would go together, or somebody else wold be there to talk to whilst it finished. Tonight, however, Yang was alone, apart from a couple of younger students she'd never seen before, who didn't deem it important to talk to her. _The feeling is mutual, kids. _

She let her face slip from false happiness to reflect her mood – distant, disappointed and a little frustrated. _Even though there's no point angsting over it, I can't help but think about it. _She was usually relatively laid-back, letting things wash over her like the tide, and recede when they needed to, but with someone she cared about involved, or…Weiss…it was different. Sometimes, they'd build up on her until she needed to let it out. Thankfully, she had boxing for that. She sparred with other students every Wednesday after school, which was a lot more effective at letting out stress then merely attacking a punching bag. _And that's tomorrow. Good. _

Suddenly, another person entered the laundry room, black hair and gorgeous dark skin contrasting with the white of the tiles of the walls.

Blake.

Yang's chest tightened, her breathing a little more restricted than before, and she felt her heart thump aggressively with every beat. _Oh god. Here we go. _It was quite a bit sooner than she'd hoped, but Blake was here, and with the lack of company in the laundry room, there was no better place for the two to talk. _But how do I start? What do I say?_ Lost at how to begin a conversation, Yang did nothing but watch out of the corner of her eye, leaning back against the washing machine her laundry was in. Blake walked up to the one directly next to her, despite every other machine being free. Yang didn't know how to interpret that.

Blake said nothing as she gently placed her clothes in the washing machine, not struggling at all to turn on the machine, despite it being her first time. At least, Yang assumed it was. Even so, it was difficult for the golden-haired girl not to stare at the way her wavy black hair fell in clumps over her face as she leaned down to shut the door, or the way the light highlighted the contours in her cheekbones, exemplifying their beauty.

Then, at last, they made eye contact, startling amber on cool lavender. Blake peered curiously at the girl beside her, expression unreadable. Yang swallowed thickly, unsure whether or not to say something. _Oh god. Here it comes. _

Yet, Blake said nothing, just gazed at Yang with a guarded expression. The silence was tangible, at least to her. Too tangible, uncomfortably so, even. Their faces were only inches from each other.

"Blake, I…"

Yang suddenly broke the silence, and both of them flinched away, looking aside.

"I'm sorry. About before, that is. I – I did a bad thing." Yang's vocabulary went out the window as she tried to form a proper sentence to express herself. Funny how the girl who was _so _good at speeches in English couldn't speak to save herself in a tough situation.

Blake didn't seem to be able to meet Yang's eyes, her mouth forming a tiny pout. Yang's face fell a little, but her desire to express did not.

"I mean," she stammered out, panic rising a little in her voice, "I, just, well, I was mad, see? Weiss isn't that nice a person, and she hates me, and she was really mean to Ruby, so I got mad, and I kinda stormed in there, but I mean I shouldn't – "

Suddenly, Yang felt Blake's finger across her lips, and the lavender-eyed girl stopped in her tracks.

"I'm not mad at you," the raven-haired girl said, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

_She's…not mad?_

"You're not?" Yang's words echoed her thoughts as she tried to grasp the situation. Blake shook her head, and drew her hand back. Suddenly, Yang missed the feeling of warmth on her lips.

"I'm not," Blake repeated, though the gentle smile turned into a gentle frown. "What do you do with Weiss isn't my business."

Her words came out slow but steady, a testament to how much her English had improved over the past few days.

"However," she continued, finally meeting Yang's eyes, "I was a little concerned you attacked my roommate out of the blue. She explained to me that it's normal for you two, but…"

Yang's eyebrows raised in surprise. _Weiss explained all that? Wow. I…I'm surprised. _

"…I'm not sure how comfortable I am with you being so…" Blake struggled for the word. "…aggressive."

Yang exhaled, harshly, scratching the back of her head.

"I kinda messed up there, didn't I?" she muttered, frowning. The golden-haired girl chewed the inside of her cheek. Neither of them spoke for a minute, staring at the ground. The washing machines droned in the background. Yang suddenly became aware of the lack of distance between them, and tried to stop her cheeks from reddening.

"Look, Yang…" Blake bit her lip, breaking the silence. "…I don't dislike you."

Yang looked up, her eyes finally meeting Blake's, lavender on amber, a gentle intensity between them.

"And…I don't want us to stop…this…because of one thing," she continued, looking nervous. "So, if you want to forget this ever happened…"

"…we can start again?" Yang finished, hope spreading across her face. Blake nodded, nervousness turning to a vaguely hesitant fondness. The grin on Yang's face went wider as she smiled, genuinely this time.

_Thanks, Blake._ Like nothing had happened, the two began discussing their day, grinning and laughing like they had before. There were still tinges of awkwardness, but it was a vast improvement from before. And, for Yang, that was enough.

**Massive thanks to tumblr user lilamala as always for helping out with Weiss's German – this story wouldn't be possible without them. Unfortunately, tumblr user canibalu-ri was too busy to help with this chapter, so tumblr user svogel21 stepped out. Thanks a bunch, guys, it really means a lot.**

**schlampige Zicke – Essentially, 'slutty bitch'. Originally, I'd written 'sluttacious bitch', so I think this captures the meaning pretty well (I got a cute lil message from lilamala a while ago telling me how excited they were for swears. I hope you're still having fun, buddy!)**

**on a rompu – Literally, 'we broke up'. **

**Biest – This means beast, and is often used for an aggressive woman. **

**As always, please leave me your feedback! I love love love hearing what you think, and I'm always open to throwing in those little headcanons you guys have about the girls. Please, review/follow/favourite if you're reading this on , comment/kudos/bookmark this if you're on AO3, and like/reblog if you're reading this on Tumblr. It really boosts my confidence to see people enjoying the story.**

**If you ever want to contact me, feel free to message me at my tumblr, seacatsinspace! I'm on there multiple times a day, so that's where you'll get the fastest response.**

**Finally, thank you all for reading my humble little fic. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welp, here we are again, with Chapter 5. There's lots of White Rose interaction, as well as a healthy dose of Bumbleby interaction and even some Ruby/Yang sibling shenanigans. It's been a blast writing this so far, so I hope you guys are enjoying it! Remember to comment and leave kudos if you're reading this on AO3, review/favourite/follow if you're reading this on , and like/reblog if you're reading this on tumblr! I'm always available to contact at my tumblr blog, .com, and I check it multiple times a day. Enjoy, everyone!**

Ruby Rose wasn't particularly fond of the days when she didn't have History. Sure, Physics was really interesting, but it didn't have the same spark. There were no stories of valour, stories of tragedy, or stories of victory like the ones Yang read her when she was tiny. Even their Mechanics topic was decidedly less exciting than Ruby had hoped for – somehow, how guns worked wasn't exactly at the top of her teacher's list. Still, it was interesting, if only indirectly. Sometime she'd get a juicy bit of information that'd me her go _"Oh," _and all of a sudden something made sense more than before.

It were those moments, really, that Ruby found herself appreciating more and more, in those spaces between the things she really liked to do. Sure, it was a little boring, but there was nothing that could be done about that. School was school, as much as she loathed the idea.

Still, as Yang had told her over and over again, she had to have the boring bits, otherwise the fun bits wouldn't be fun anymore. _And she's probably right, though it doesn't make Physics class pass any faster_. Slugging through four classes a day, as per Beacon's unusual schedule, was tough enough, but with a line-up like English, Maths, Biology and then Physics, it became a particular kind of challenge.

According to the classroom's somewhat faulty clock, there was still five minutes to go until class ended. Everyone was meant to be working silently, a task that for Nora was typically somewhat of a challenge, but for once, Ruby's only close friend in the class seemed to be completing it. Ruby, however, was far too busy procrastinating to do anything of the sort.

_Just five more minutes until I can get out of here. Uuuuugggggghhhhhh. _The silver-eyed girl cupped her chin in her palm, her elbow resting on the table. _And to make it worse, Weiss and I haven't made any progress on the History project. _Yesterday, class had been dedicated to covering more of the course content, rather than allowing the students to continue working on their projects. Whilst the silver-eyed girl had been fascinated, she'd found it a little disappointing that no progress had been made. Weiss had had fencing training after school, meaning the two hadn't been able to meet up at all. _And I have track training today, too. _

Even if her partner was the Ice Queen, Ruby found herself a little disappointed that she hadn't done anything. The project called to her – _No, it's practically screaming out my name _– and Ruby desperately wanted to answer. However, with classes, training, homework, and Weiss's tight schedule, things didn't always line up. To put it simply, it sucked.

Ruby exhaled in frustration, tapping her pen against the page she was dutifully not reading.

Then, suddenly, the bell rang. Ruby sat up like lightning, shovelling her things into her back with a vivacious intensity, and waited anxiously for the teacher to dismiss them. Nora looked at Ruby with confusion, raising an eyebrow.

"You're looking excited. Something good happening after school?" Nora asked quizzically.

Ruby nodded, slinging her bag onto one shoulder.

"Uh, yeah. No more Physics for today," she replied, fist pumping. Nora chuckled, her laugh a kind of giggle snort Ruby had once thought exclusive to sitcoms and low-budget comedies.

"You know, I always thought people who were really good at subjects loved them too. Guess that's not the case, huh Einstein?"

Ruby just shrugged as she headed out the door and into the hallway, having been dismissed.

"I gotta go, Nora. I got training," she said, gesturing with her head towards the sports grounds.

Nora waved with one hand, an inelegant flourish that fit her perfectly. "Break their legs!" she called, half-serious. It was Nora's trademark well-wishing remark, after all. The girl had felt the old 'Break a leg' wasn't…exciting enough. Ruby let out a giggle as she waved back, then turned away from the girl and headed towards the gym.

The changing rooms were located in a small room off to the side of the gymnasium, complete with lockers and showers. The only other girls inside were the younger members of her track and field team; she was the only senior in the team, though she was same age as some of the juniors. _Ever since Velvet graduated, it's been kind of lonely. _

Because of her sprints, and her freakish natural ability in Maths, Physics and History, she'd been put up a year, allowing her to enter Beacon alongside Yang. Of course, this led to certain social difficulties. Ruby had clung to Yang or kept to herself for the majority of the first year – slowly, however, as she met Jaune, then later Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha, the girl had opened up a little. Still, she wasn't exactly known for her social aptitude. Hence, her relationship with her juniors was that of acquaintances at best.

They waved at her, greeting her as per normal, and Ruby grinned back. Exchanging pleasantries was about as far as she got with them. Because of the solitary nature of the sport, there was no need for team building, and thus friends stuck with friends. Despite the loneliness, Ruby somehow wasn't bothered. She was here to sprint, and nothing else.

And, after a particularly long sermon from their coach, Ruby's feet finally hit the track, and she felt like she had wings. To her, there was nothing more magical than the feeling of the wind against her face as her feet pounded the ground, propelling her forwards at a pace no-one else could match.

It was incredible, really to feel so airy, so light. To say she felt as if she was flying, riding the clouds, wasn't an understatement by any means – if she closed her eyes, she could imagine the gentle touch of the clouds against her skin as she soared above them, below them, and even through them. _This has to be the best feeling in the world. _

Beyond anything else, it was a dance. Lightning-quick steps, and a lengthy stride, a pounding chest and harsh breathing. Even though it hurt, as she reached her limit, there was something intensely satisfying about the way her chest burnt with every step. There was an increasing rhythm to her pace, a half-beat to every heartbeat and a pause to each repeat.

Really, it was nothing short of magical.

Still, that fantasy dissipated into nothing as she came to a crashing stop, nearly tripping over her own feet as she reached the end of the 100m track. Her coach looked her discerningly, raising an eyebrow.

"Ten point nine four seconds. Not bad at all, Ruby."

The words that came were impressed, and Ruby could only grin, as she received envying stares from the girls watching her. _Maybe they're too scared to talk to me, or something. _She glanced at the other girls, seeing varying expression ranging from impressed to outright jealousy. _Then again, maybe not. _Apparently somebody had said something funny, because all of a sudden a few snickered under their breath. Ruby chose to ignore it, though; she'd gotten used to people snickering at her over the years. It wasn't like they were actively insulting her.

Still, she made a point not to walk with them to the changing rooms. She didn't need more of their criticism. However, as Ruby left the running track, prepared to head for the showers, she saw an unexpected, but familiar face. Weiss Schnee leant back against the wall beside the changing room, checking her phone. Ruby approached her, cautious and confused.

"Uuuh, Weiss?"

The Ice Queen looked up suddenly, a little surprised, but rolled her eyes.

"Finally," she said. "I thought your godforsaken training would never end. _Mir ist eiskalt_." Weiss folded her arms, slipping her phone back into her pocket.

Ruby tilted her head, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just texting a friend," she answered snippily. Ruby frowned. _Great. What did I do wrong now, other than existing? _

"I meant here, as in 'what are you doing beside the changing rooms at five thirty pm,' rather than who you were texting," Ruby said, raising an eyebrow.

Weiss tossed her ponytail, disguising embarrassment with a dignified air. "…right. Anyway, I was waiting for you. I presume you don't have anything after this, so we're going to work on that History project of ours. We can discuss it over dinner."

"Ah, sure. I guess I'll…see you at dinner?" Ruby replied, still a little confused. "But, uh, how did you know I had training today?"

Weiss rolled her eyes again, and gestured towards the gym, "Everyone knows you do track and field, so all I had to do was look up the training time."

"Oh, okay."

Ruby watched as Weiss headed off back towards the dorms, both surprised, but now a little excited. _Well, that's a good sign. At least she wants to work on it! _Still, a strange thought struck her mind, as she turned on the shower and let warm water wrap around her body.

_Wait…did she just invite me to have dinner with her? _

Yang Xiao Long wasn't exactly sure why Blake had agreed to come, but hell, she wasn't complaining.

The black-haired girl was leaning against the wall, a bemused smile on her face, one eyebrow perpetually raised. She was still in her school uniform, in contrast to the blonde-haired girl's loose, black t-shirt and short-shorts. Amber eyes glinted as she watched Yang pummel the punching bag in the center of the room over and over again.

"You're not getting bored, are you? I'm just punching a bag; I can't imagine it's particularly fun for you," Yang asked, briefly pausing in her attack to wipe sweat off of her forehead. Even so, unless she took her gloves off, she couldn't do anything about the sweat dripping down her neck and spine.

"No, I'm fine. Keep going," Blake replied, smirking a little more than before at Yang's comment. Yang raised an eyebrow, but resumed swinging her fists repetitively at the punching bag.

Jab, cross, right uppercut, left uppercut, right hook, left hook, and repeat. It was a simple exercise, but it was good for casual practise. Every now and then, Yang would cast a sideward glance at her mocha-skinned companion, but it was difficult to admire her when the girl's amber eyes were fixed upon Yang as if she were a delectable morsel, tiger-like.

So, Yang had to force herself to keep staring straight at the punching bag, even though her arms could well operate without her mind's permission, the movements committed to muscle memory. _And she's just staring at me. Not that I would mind if we were going out, but it's more than a little confusing. _

It was probably another half-hour of various exercises and punches before Yang wiped her brow for the last time, and tugged at the Velcro strap on her wrists, sliding the gloves off.

"You're done?" Blake questioned, her perpetual smirk vanishing in favour of a questioning expression. Yang nodded, still a little out of a breath.

"Yeah, I….I'm done. That's enough training for today…" she panted, wiping her forehead again. _God, I hope she doesn't mind me being all gross and sweaty. _The black-haired girl tossed Yang's towel at her and picked up the blonde's bag, falling in beside her to walk to the changing rooms. Yang raised an eyebrow, her breath easing, though it was still a little forced.

"So, uh," Yang pressed her face into the towel, allowing it to soak up the excess sweat that covered her face. "How come you wanted to come watch me train?"

Blake shrugged, her expression not revealing much, but her lips curved into a half-smile.

"Wanting to support my friend isn't a good enough reason?" The raven-haired girl glanced sideways at her companion, tilting her head ever so slightly.

Yang shrugged in return, glancing back towards the training area, then again towards Blake, and said, "Well, I mean it's not a problem, I just didn't think it was really your thing."

"Boxing, I mean," Yang clarified, unnecessarily.

Blake smiled, raising an eyebrow, mirroring Yang's expression from before, before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"You weren't wrong," the dark-skinned girl said, voice still quiet and occasionally hesitant, but not from shyness, "I did have an ulterior motive."

"Oh yeah?" Yang questioned, placing two hands behind her head, interlocking her fingers.

Blake nodded, and said, "Actually, I wanted to learn how to fight without weapons. You know, uh…." She struggled for the word, grasping at the air.

"Fisticuffs?" Yang suggested, and Blake nodded.

"What you said. So I wanted to see if you were any good," she finished, stepping out of the gym into the cool evening air. Winter break had only just finished, so the air was and piercing. It didn't bother Yang; according to Ruby she had the body temperature of a small furnace. _It's not my fault I don't feel the cold. _

"Oh? You didn't believe me when I said I was the best boxer in the entire school?" Yang teased, nudging her companion gently. Blake rolled her eyes. "So, did I live up to your expectations, miss high standards?"

Blake smirked, lifting an eyebrow, and said, "You did alright. I guess you'll do for a teacher."

The two had reached the changing rooms already, but they waited outside, neither willing to cut the conversation off.

"Looks like I've got a tough student, doesn't it?" Yang teased, pulling a face, "How come you want to learn to punch, anyway? Seems a little out of character for you. You know, with all your," Yang gestured wildly, "books and stuff. Bookish things. Books. That."

Blake frowned, and said, "There's more to me than just books, Yang."

_Shit. I didn't mean it like that. Crap. Crap. _Yang waved her hands, trying to explain.

"No, wait, I didn't mean it like that! I mean it's not a bad thing, I just didn't expect is all." The blonde-haired girl winced, "I'm sorry."

Blake snickered, and said, "It's fine; I'm just teasing. Anyway, I want to learn self-defence. I'm okay with a knife or something, but if I don't have a weapon I'm useless..."

Yang internally sighed with relief, laughing just a tad nervously alongside the raven-haired girl.

"Self-defence? I could do that," Yang said, scratching at the base of her head. Blake grinned, and Yang could have sworn she saw excitement sparkle in the girl's eyes. _Well, maybe sparkle is the wrong word. That sounds like something out of a bad fanfiction. _

"Thanks, Yang. I really appreciate it." Blake's smile was genuine, and for a moment, the mystery of the girl was replaced by something more innocent and pure. Yang blinked, and it was gone, as Blake shoved the blonde's bag towards her.

"Here," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. Yang caught it, raising an eyebrow. "I should head off," Blake continued, looking over her shoulder, "I have homework I should get started with before dinner."

Blake began to turn away, but all of a sudden Yang reached out, grabbing her wrist.

"You gonna eat with us tonight?" Yang asked, staring at the dark-skinned girl.

Blake rolled her eyes, and said, "Sure."

Yang released the girl's hand, and waved as she left, watching her. _Oh god, why did I grab her wrist? That was such a dumb move. _She headed into the changing rooms, tossing her stuff into a locker and grabbing her soap. Thankfully, the changing rooms were mostly empty, which meant Yang got first pick of the showers. Despite the fact that Beacon was a world-class international school, their facilities could use an upgrade. _Especially the showers. The one on the far left doesn't even change temperature. _

The water felt pleasantly warm against her back, though it was a little eerie showering with nothing but the sound of water splashing onto the floor. Usually, other students were there, but right now, it was just her. _So Blake wants me to teach her how to punch, huh. _Normally Yang would be overjoyed at the possibility of teaching her crush how to decimate opponents, but something was troubling her. _What did she mean, she's okay with a knife? Does that mean she's been in fights before? With knives? _Yang frowned. _No, she can't be in danger right now. Nobody would dare attack her at Beacon. _It wasn't as if Beacon was easy to get into. There were ways of getting past the cameras and gates, but those secret passageways were only known by the students themselves. _Any student threatening her would get caught, anyway. It's not like Weiss and me fighting is any secret to Ozpin or Goodwitch, and we keep that pretty quiet. So…? _The only explanation Yang could think of was that the girl wanted to be prepared. She sighed, rinsing her hair of conditioner. _Well, it's good she's not in any danger right now. Still though, I do wonder why she was in a knife fight. Would it be too personal if I just asked her? _Yang frowned again, lathering her body with body wash. It was honey-scented. _Maybe I should ask Ruby. She wouldn't tell anyone. _The delicacy of such a topic limited Yang's options for confidants. Ruby wasn't exactly ideal for interpersonal intimacies, but Yang didn't really have another option. _She'll do. Ruby hasn't failed me before. _Yang wondered if it was time she started giving her younger sister a little more credit. _She's not four, anymore, I guess. _Long gone were the days where the silver-eyed girl had clung to her like a leech.

Yang turned off the water, wondering what to do. _I suppose it can wait. I can talk to Blake at dinner, and I'll ask Ruby when she gets back from training. _It was a relief for the blonde to know the raven-haired girl wasn't angry at her anymore. _Besides, she needs time away from the ice queen. Spending your life surrounded by coldness does not a happy person make. _If Weiss was cold and icy, Yang had to be the opposite. _Warm. Sunny? Hot, maybe? Hehe. Warm and sunny. I like that. _Yang had always preferred to think of herself as someone warm and happy like that.

_Weiss and I are opposites, and then Blake is the opposite again. She's quiet where I'm loud, dark where I'm light, but not in a bad way…_The blonde packed her things into her gym bag, now fully clothed again, and strutted out the door. _Ruby's a lot more like me, I guess. You wouldn't guess it by looking at us, though. _

Yang looked to the side, at the running track. Her view was blocked a little by the chain-link fence that surrounded it, but she could still see Ruby sprinting as fast as she could. Her coach looked impressed, and Yang could tell from Ruby's modest body language she'd done well. _You go, Ruby._ Yang quietly cheered her sister on, glad she had her own special thing outside of academics. Still, nobody clapped for her. Instead, the girls looked almost jealous.

_…__so they still don't accept her, do they? _Yang bit her lip. Ruby had never been a social butterfly, but combined with her general awkwardness and her incredible talent in History, Physics and Maths, people were often reluctant to befriend her. _A freaky genius, nerd, loser. _Yang had heard it all before. Ruby didn't let it get to her, but she still worried the older sibling. _I just wish she had a best friend. Nora has Ren, and Jaune has Pyrrha, and I guess even I have Blake now. But, Ruby…_Even if she got along well with Jaune, and was good friends with the rest of the group, Yang knew she was just a little distant.

…_even so, there's nothing I can do right now. I should head back to the room. Maybe I'll rough her up a little and remind her how much I love her when she gets in. _Yang smiled, lifting an eyebrow, and turned towards the dorms, walking off with her hands in her pockets. _'Cause I do love ya, baby sister. A lot. Even if you're a super nerd who's better at Maths than me. _

Ruby Rose had only a few split-seconds after entering her room before she was enveloped by warm arms.

"Hello~" her sister chimed in, squeezing the brunette and lifting her off of her feet.

"Yang! Put me down!" Ruby attempted to squirm away, but the blonde-haired girl's grip was vicelike, and Ruby found her efforts to be in vain.

"Aw, come on Ruby, can't I show how much I love my baby sister?" Yang teased, a shit-eating grin on her face. Ruby frowned, emitting strangled baby animal noises.

"Yang I am dying please stop," Ruby squeezed out, lack of air forcing her into deadpan. The lavender-eyed girl pouted, but gently eased the girl to the ground. Ruby gasped for air.

"Fine," Yang said, reaching out and ruffling Ruby's hair, much to the younger girl's discontent, "but just remember that I am very, very proud of you, and I love you a lot, okay?"

Ruby frowned. She was used to Yang being doting, but this was excessive even for her. _Oh god, don't tell me she did something._

"Yang, what did you do?" Ruby said, raising an eyebrow, an unamused expression creeping across her face.

"Hey, can't I show a little love for my baby sister every now and then? Besides, it's actually nothing. Zwei is fine this time," Yang said, waving her hands in dismissal. "I promise."

Ruby looked at Yang sceptically, then rolled her eyes, 'Whatever you say. Anyways, I, uh, I'm not eating dinner with you and the others tonight."

It was Yang's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? How come?" she questioned, putting a hand on her hip. Ruby bit her lip, and shut her eyes in preparation.

"Well, uh, Weiss wanted to do some more of our History project. She said we could discuss it over dinner. Please don't be mad." Ruby opened one of her eyes hesitantly. Yang frowned, but didn't look inherently angry. "…you're not mad?"

Yang sighed, scratching her head.

"Well," she said, "I was kinda thinking about this earlier. There isn't much point in me blowing up every time you go and see her, cause it's sort of a necessary thing…it's sort of devolved into pained sympathy by now."

Ruby exhaled with relief. _Oh, thank god. Now I don't have to worry about her burning down the school every time I do my homework. _A smile curved at her lips, and Yang grinned again, poking her tongue out.

"Sucks for you to have to put up with the Ice Queen at dinner, though," Yang said, as she threw an arm around her younger sister's shoulders, dragging her out the door and towards the cafeteria.

Ruby poked her tongue out at the blonde, shrugging off the arm. _She's not that bad. It's not like it's a punishment or anything. I mean, she's still a person, even if she is kinda mean. _The silver-eyed girl didn't dislike Weiss – not like Yang did. _Though from what Yang says, it's entirely justified…_

Despite her sister preaching to her about how Weiss was the antichrist, Ruby still didn't know the gritty details of what had happened. All Yang would ever say is that Weiss was a bitch, and that was why they broke up. _But if that was all, they wouldn't have gotten together in the first place. Even when they were together, she complained about Weiss being a bit of a bitch. _Ruby looked at her sister, who grinned with the same intensity she always did.

"Hey, Yang-"

"Oh! Ruby! I just remembered!"

Yang suddenly cut her off, leaving Ruby a little disappointed.

"We're having Blake's initiation, right? It's the first Friday of the new term." Yang said, bouncing on her heels as she walked.

Ruby had almost forgotten; it was a Beacon tradition to initiate every new student who came to the dorms. Blake was an unusual example, having transferred in the middle of the year for the second semester, as well as being a senior, not a freshman, but tradition was tradition. Excitement flared in her chest as Ruby thought about it.

"Oh, I forgot. What time are we starting?" Ruby asked, an excitable grin spreading across her face. Yang's expression mirrored her own, anticipation in her eyes.

"I thought about seven. It'll just be starting to get dark by then," Yang said. Ruby nodded as the two pushed through the double doors to the cafeteria. Jaune and Ren were already seated, and waved at the two as they entered.

"So, this is where we part, huh?" Yang winced as she gazed at her younger sister, then across the cafeteria, and back. "Try not to get murdered."

Ruby grimaced, and said, "See you later, I guess."

Yang gave her a nod, and departed, grinning as she sat down with the boys. Ruby frowned, and looked over the cafeteria, scanning for any traces of the Ice Queen.

She was sitting in the corner at a table for two. Alone. _That…almost seems kinda sad. _Ruby hadn't noticed it before, but Weiss was often alone. Her frosty attitude usually kept people from pitying her, but to Ruby it just seemed a little sad. She knew the feeling, a little, of being alone. If Yang was with her (and she always was), then she was fine, but in the absence of her big sister, Ruby sometimes felt a little lonely.

Feeling a little disheartened, Ruby headed towards the table. Weiss drooped like a dying flower; even though she sat with perfect posture, everything about her seemed so sad. Ruby took a seat, and Weiss suddenly looked up, glaring. Her expression softened as she recognised the person opposite her.

"Uh, hi, Weiss." Ruby mumbled, the all-too-familiar nervous bubbles rising in her stomach. Weiss's expression was somewhat unreadable; all Ruby could see was the questioning look in her blue, blue icy blue eyes.

"I'm surprised; I entertained the thought you wouldn't come," Weiss said, her voice still crystal clear and cutting, but somehow softer than usual.

Ruby glanced to the side, her voice still small. "Well, why wouldn't I? I said I would, so…"

Ruby could have sworn Weiss froze for the teensiest of split seconds, but the girl was back to unreadable so quickly the younger girl wondered if she'd imagined it. She did have a vivid imagination.

"Aren't you going to get anything?" Weiss said, gesturing to the empty space in front of Ruby. "Eating dinner is good for you. You're an athlete, aren't you? _Ehrlich jetzt_._"_

Ruby put a hand to the back of her head, smiling sheepishly. "Ahah. Oh yeah. Sorry."

She stood up, making her way to the line, gazing at Weiss as she waited. The Ice Queen looked lonely again. _I don't get it. Why does she look so sad to me, even when she's normal faced? I…I don't get it._

Tonight's meal was macaroni cheese; a popular favourite. Ruby smiled at the lady who dolloped a large spoonful onto her plate, then turned back to Weiss, her eye catching her usual table as she passed. Jaune and Nora waved with pitying expressions; Ren and Pyrrha gave her sympathetic glances. Yang seemed preoccupied with her meal.

Ruby took a seat in front of Weiss again, still unsure of what to say. The Ice Queen sucked on her fork thoughtfully, staring into space. Ruby gazed at her, wondering what was going through the girl's mind. Her blue eyes gazed upwards, and a petite hand brushed away white strand of hair from her face.

"I was thinking," Weiss said, slowly drawing the fork from between her lips, "we need to research the major battles and why they happened, _nicht wahr_? And we also need to explain who won and why. So, what would affect those kinds of things?"

Ruby tilted her head, pondering.

"What about the kinds of weapons that they used? Maybe there were different ones for different battles?"

Weiss nodded, still staring off into space, "Mm, that's a good idea. _Gut gedacht__._ We could also talk about supplies – ammunition, food, clean water, _und so weiter_."

_Hey, was that a compliment? _Weiss, Ruby noted, had a tendency to mutter in German whenever she was thinking hard about something, or not really paying attention to her words. _Either that, or she's yelling at me. _

"Which battles do we want to cover?" Ruby asked, trying to think and eat simultaneously. It was proving a challenge. "If we go over all of them, we probably won't finish."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "That's perceptive of you. You're right, we need to pick our battles."

Ruby let out a giggle, suppressing herself at a glance from the Ice Queen. Weiss looked confused for a moment, before slowly realising what she'd said.

"_Ich kann nicht glauben, dass ich das jetzt gesagt hab. Gott im Himmel, ich verwandle mich in sie. Oh mein Gott_." Weiss said, rubbing her temples with one hand. Ruby snickered, a goofy grin forming at her lips despite the fact she had little idea what Weiss had said. _The tone of your words made it clear, though._ Weiss looked mortified.

"Oh, by the way, we're holding Blake's initiation tomorrow, if you wanna come. Cause you're roommates, and all." Ruby added, hoping to change the topic to save Weiss from further embarrassment. An embarrassed Weiss typically meant an angry Weiss, and Ruby didn't want to deal with the storm.

Weiss raised an eyebrow, and said, "Oh? Thank you for telling me. I probably will go."

Her lips curved into a sort of half-smile, and her expression softened just a little. Ruby watched her facials, observing quietly.

"Oh! Uh, don't tell her about it. We wanna keep it a surprise." Ruby added, scratching her neck. Weiss exhaled, eyebrows folding as she looked a little offended.

"_Wirklich__, _what kind of person do you think I am? As if I would ruin her initiation, of all things. Despite what you and everyone else may think of me, I am still a student of Beacon. Furthermore, she's my roommate." The blue-eyed girl sniffed, closing her eyes and crinkling her nose in displeasure. "_Ich werde nichts ruinieren nur um diesen Gorilla zu ärgern_."

Ruby rested her chin on her palm, and her elbow on the table. Everyone had seen it so often they didn't mention it anymore, but the girl wondered how exactly Weiss had gotten her scar. It was like a lightning symbol over her left eye, puckered and pale pink, but prominent against her snow-white skin.

"_Ey, _if you're done eating, let's go. We've got work to do. It's going to take a while to thoroughly cover the Battle of the Frontiers," Weiss said snippily, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder and rising from the table. Ruby followed suit, stumbling as she lifted her plate towards the dishes, and earning a bemused sideward glance from the white-haired girl. Then, she followed the older girl out the door, undoubtedly headed towards the library.

"Uh, are you looking forwards to Blake's initiation?" Ruby asked, trying to make conversation after a few minutes of quite frankly unbearable silence. The two were alone; everyone else still eating or having returned to their dorms to study. A number were already in the library, Ruby noted as the two entered, and she looked around. Grey, patterned carpet was littered with people, yet despite the lack of space it was nearly silent. Only the scratching of pens, clicks of keyboards and the occasional hushed giggled could be heard.

"I am," Weiss affirmed, her voice hushed so as not to disturb those who'd left their homework to the last minute. "Though I am concerned about her doing it alone; we all did it in pairs, didn't we?"

They took a seat at one of the few remaining empty desks. Weiss turned to Ruby as they sat down, side by side, and asked, "Can you research on your phone? There aren't any free computers in the lab today."

Ruby shook her head, regretfully holding up her decidedly not-smart phone. Weiss frowned, rubbing her temples. _Yikes. I hope she's not mad. _

"Fine, then. We'll just have to use my laptop together. Progress will be slower, though. Scooch over."

Ruby felt Weiss's side press against her, warm and petite, as the two moved closer to peer at the older girl's laptop screen. It was already seven; they only had two or three hours before curfew. _This isn't so bad, though. She's even being nice...for…Weiss. It's even kinda nice working with her, I guess. She has her own laptop, which makes things easier. _Still, Ruby was very aware of Weiss's breath on her cheek as they worked. She'd never been so close to anyone, barring Yang's over-affectionate gestures, and the occasional glomp from Nora. Yet even those were fleeting, and this was…decidedly not.

_…__I should focus on working. Weiss will yell at me if I lose focus again._

**Mir ist eiskalt – I'm icecold, or I'm freezing.**

**Ehrlich jetzt – Honestly now (you don't say honestly on its own, mostly).**

**Nicht wahr? – Not true, which is used often for sentences like this. Used here to mean "blah, right?"**

**Gut gedacht – Good thinking.**

**Und so weiter – And the like.**

**Ich kann nicht glauben, dass ich das jetzt gesagt hab. Gott im Himmel, ich verwandle mich in sie. Oh mein Gott - I can't believe I just said that. God help me, I'm turning into her. Oh my god.**

**Wirklich – Honestly.**

**Ich werde nichts ruinieren nur um diesen Gorilla zu ärgern. – I'm not going to mess things up just to make that gorilla angry.**

**Ey – Oi.**

**Whew, what a chapter. This was in all honesty mostly set-up for the next chapter (Blake's initiation, woop woop!), as well as some of the major plot points that I'm gonna be throwing your way. /there's also a kiss next chapter be hype**

**So, yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter because next time things really get moving~ **

**Also, I'd really like to thank all of you for your support! It's been really nice to get a little message on Tumblr now and then about a head canon, what you guys thought of the latest chapter, or even just you guys nagging at me to get the next one out. I lovelovelove hearing what y'all think, and the more you guys give kudos, reblog, favourite or follow the story to more people are gonna know about it (and the more time I'll likely dedicate to the story!) and it gives me the warmest of fuzzies.**

**So yeah. Remember to like/reblog, give kudos/comment/bookmark, and review/favourite/follow! I really appreciate every reading my little fic, so I hope you continue to enjoy it! If you've got anything you'd really like me to respond to, any head canons you want to see integrated or any complaints, you can find me on tumblr at .com. Thanks again, everyone! See you next chapter~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay, every~! Here it is, the sixth chapter of 55 Minutes. This one's pretty long, at around 6800~ words, so do enjoy! I won't keep you any longer~**

Blake Belladonna was bewildered as to why Yang had insisted she put on sportswear at 7:00pm on a Friday afternoon, but here she was. _She's been buzzing all day. She kept staring at me and giggling in Chemistry, too. I don't get it. _The blonde-haired girl had been at her side since school had ended, dragging her about the school in what Yang called a "crash-course in Beacon secrets". Admittedly, it had been interesting learning about the hidden library, but the 'haunted classroom' had been taking things a little too far. _Yet for some reason I'm still here, letting her drag me around. _Yang would have stopped if Blake had asked, but despite the dark-skinned girl having decidedly less interest in bogus rumours and well-known 'secrets' than her excitable compatriot, she enjoyed herself. _It's not like I'm going to lie to myself about how much I like her. She's…fun. _

Yang was currently waiting outside the bathroom in which Blake was changing, her school uniform cast away on the floor, as Blake struggled to get her feet through the legs of her yoga pants, her toes catching on the stretchy fabric.

"_Mince,__" _Blake hissed. She had a bit of a love-hate relationship with her yoga pants. They were _chiant_to put on, but they were just so comfy.

"Blake? You almost done? We gotta go!"

Yang's voice called, and Blake could _hear_ the lavender-eyed girl bouncing up and down in her voice. _I just wish she'd tell me what this all is about. _Yang had skilfully dodged the topic all day; when Blake asked her directly Yang waved it off, saying "You'll find out~". Even Ruby and the others at lunch had been acting odd; and Blake hated secrets. _It really irritates me, that they won't tell me what this is all about. _The black-haired girl stepped outside, greeted by an over-enthusiastic Great Dane of a girl rocking back and forth on her heels. Yang's perpetual passion for whatever she had in store was almost grating, and Blake glared at her friend to make sure she knew it.

Unfortunately for her, Yang was completely unaffected.

"Aww, Blakey~ Come on, don't look at me like that! This is exciting!" Yang's voice trilled, a teasing note to her words. Blake raised her eyebrows.

"…'Blakey'?"

Yang's shit-eating grin didn't even falter. Instead, the blonde pushed the dark-skinned girl towards the door of her dorm, impatient as anything. Blake reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged, once again, across the school grounds. _The things I do for friendship. _In all honesty, Blake had no idea why she was so…complacent when it came to Yang's misadventures. If it had been any of her 'friends' from the past, she would have told them exactly where to go. Even if it were Ruby, Weiss, Jaune or any of the others she'd become acquainted with over her first week at school, she'd politely decline and make her escape.

Yet, somehow, when it was Yang, her willpower melted away, and she was swept away on some adventure here or there. _Much like right now_, she noted as Yang tugged her down the hallway of the dorms. Even so, Blake had to admit she was sort of enjoying herself. The lavender-eyed girl's enthusiasm and constant high spirits was infectious, and Blake had to stop herself from grinning in the same way. Despite her best efforts, a small smile trickled out, and of course Yang took it as permission to go full steam ahead. Blake rolled her eyes and Yang led her outside, into the chilly air.

_She's like an excitable puppy. _The dark-skinned girl sighed as they slowed to a gentle walk, grateful at least for the change of pace. _An excitable puppy without a leash. _

"We're almost there," Yang said, winking. Her golden hair flowed in the occasionally-aggressive breeze, lit up like embers in the evening sunlight. It was pretty – she was pretty.

Blake didn't reply, instead choosing to look elsewhere, at her surroundings, for reasons she didn't want to admit. The native bush forest beside Beacon looked intimidating, trees of varying species spreading high and shrubs of varying density marking the undergrowth. Still, it was beautiful in a rugged, natural sort of way. The sunlight peered through the gaps in the treeline, blinding her every now and then. The only human contact she could detect were the barely-trodden paths leading deep inside.

Yang tapped her shoulder, and Blake turned to see an array of people – friends and acquaintances – in her year, all gathered together, standing and chatting beside the wall of the dorms, in a small clearing between the school and the forest. Ruby, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren – even Weiss – were all there, waiting and waving. Yang grinned, squeezing Blake's shoulder. _What…is this?_

"Alright, everyone! She's here!" Yang suddenly bellowed, catching the attention of all the students. Yang looked at Blake, sending her another wink. "It's time for Blake Belladonna, the newest student of Beacon, to be initiated!"

The group cheered, grins and smiles being tossed all around. _Nobody ever said anything about initiation. _Yang in particular grinned directly at Blake. _Then again, it is sort of a nice sentiment. _A smile tugged at her lips, which only excited Yang further. _Still, I'm surprised so many people showed up. Is initiation really that big of a deal?_ Blake was suddenly bombarded with the fear of having to do something embarrassing in front of a crowd.

Thankfully, it didn't seem as if that was the case.

"As part of your initiation, we've hidden a shot of tequila at the base of the red-leaved tree in the center of the forest," Yang announced, voice loud so that all could hear, though she was addressing Blake. "Once you find it, you'll come back here, and skull it in front of everyone. Then, you'll be fully initiated as a member of Beacon Academy."

The group cheered again, and Blake raised her eyebrows, expression still impassive. _Okay, so it is that big of a deal. _Now, Blake was bombarded with the fear she might get lost in the middle of the forest.

"Is this safe…?" Blake questioned softly, tapping Yang's wrist with her own. The blonde turned back to her, smiling and nodding.

"We all did it, in our first year at Beacon. You'll be fine. Just follow the trodden path," she said, placing a hand on the dark-skinned girl's shoulder. Blake frowned, but nodded.

"…I should go, then."

Yang nodded, the crowd beginning to clap as Blake made her way to the only 'entrance' she could see in front of her. _This is a little embarrassing. _She was used to existing quietly, and yet here she was, the sole reason an entire crowd had gathered. _One of the 'benefits' of being a close friend of Yang Xiao Long, I presume. _

Soon, though, Blake lost herself in the peacefulness of the forest, leaving giggling teenagers and laughing crowds behind her as she immersed herself. The forest was quiet, but loud in ways you wouldn't expect. There were the trills of birds, the drips of water off of branches, and the distant rumbling of a faraway stream. Then, there were her footsteps. The cracking of twigs, the crunching of leaves, the cacophony Blake created just by moving – it was all so quiet one could hear a pin drop, yet at the same time it was wholesome and full in a sound as itself.

It reminded Blake of the happier times she'd spent as a young child, playing in the silent, cobbled alleyways of Alsace with the other children from the orphanage. Though this was natural, and the streets man-made, the rugged, untamed feel was exactly the same. Blake exhaled, drawing it in. _It even sort of smells the same. _The scent of the dripping water, and the rotting leaves, it all felt familiar. _Kind of crazy I'd start missing home, when I'd been so desperate to escape from it in the first place. _

It was true; the only reason Blake had ended up at Beacon was because she wanted so desperately to escape. Getting a scholarship had been a trifle; her skills in French, English and German had been more than enough to earn her full tuition. _I suppose learning German really was a worthwhile venture. _After that, all she'd needed was a one-way plane ticket, and she'd been set for a new life. Beacon was a safe haven; a place where she could hide, learn, grow and perhaps finally outrun the past that always weighed on her.

Even if things weren't perfect, she still had a chance to start over. _I suppose that's more than I can ask for. _A smile spread across her face, gentle and sweet. _Besides, if I'd never come here, I'd have never met Yang. _Blake couldn't deny the tiniest pang of excitement that spiked in her chest when she thought about how enthusiastic the lavender-eyed girl was about the whole initiation deal. _I can't believe she's so excited over this, of all things. I mean, it's just one shot of tequila. _It didn't bother her, though. _If that's what makes her happy, though, then what the hell. _

Blake gazed around the forest, wondering how long she'd been walking through. _Half an hour? A little more? _She checked her phone. It was 7:38 pm. _Wow. I've been walking for ages. _She looked up at the sky; she could still make out patches of grey clouds from beneath the canopy of trees. _Grey? It might rain soon. I should hurry up. _As much as Blake as enjoying her little nature walk, she didn't fancy the idea of being thoroughly soaked.

It was probably another fifteen minutes before Blake found the tree in question. Yang had been right – it was pretty hard to miss. Vibrant red leaves contrasted against the dull greens and browns and greys of the rest of the foliage. She shivered, approaching the tree. Buried in the roots was a yellow plastic bag, within which Blake presumed was the tequila. She lifted it up, inspecting the insides. The tequila was clear, and even through the packaging she could detect its pungent smell. _Well, that's that._

Blake turned around, plastic bag in hand, and began to walk back the way she'd came. Then, suddenly, she heard a distinct rustling.

"…hello?" she called, looking around suspiciously. The tiniest spark of panic rose up in her stomach. Blake's head whipped to the left. Though she saw nothing, she was on full alert.

It was somehow intimidating to think that she might not be alone, as she was an hour deep into the forest, with no way to protect herself.

Yang Xiao Long gazed at her watch. It read 7:18 pm. Blake had left around fifteen minutes ago, and the blonde had checked the time perpetually since then. She'd earned confused glances from Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren, but Ruby knew her game plan, and Nora, despite her general eccentricity, had somehow picked up on it too. _Would it be too early to leave now? _She glanced at Ruby, tapping her foot impatiently against the ground. The younger girl rolled her eyes, though there was a knowing smile on her face. Normally, Yang would be irritated that Ruby was chatting to the Ice Queen, of all people, but right now she was far too focussed on her own mission. _I just hope I don't mess this up. _

Nora tapped her shoulder, and Yang whipped around to see the orange-haired girl gesture towards the forest.

"You should go," she said, smirking. Yang nodded, a goofy grin spreading across her face despite Yang's effort to maintain a poker face. Jaune and Ren exchanged a glance, and Yang shrugged.

"I'm gonna go. I have some things to get done," Yang said, aware of how weak her lie was, but not really caring either way. The three not in the loop looked bewildered, but Yang just flashed then a grin. Nora whispered something to the three of them, and simultaneously realisation swept across Pyrrha, Jaune and Ren's face. Ruby gave the blonde a thumbs up, and Yang inhaled, heading towards the forest with anticipation curling in her stomach.

_I hope they don't tell anyone else. _If Blake said no, Yang didn't want there to be some huge scandal._She's quiet for a reason. Introverted? She'd hate it if the whole school was talking about her. _The blonde sighed, making her way along the trodden path and taking care not to make loud footsteps. If Blake was nearby and heard her, it'd ruin everything. _I mean, she'll probably say no. She hadn't held back on any other of my dumb ideas. _

Yang had suggested a number of things over the past week – including painting their dorm doors like that one door from Monster's Inc., putting itching powder in Weiss's sports bag, putting whipped cream in Weiss's bed, and putting hot sauce in Weiss's dinner – all of which Blake had brutally cut down. _Okay, so I admit, the ones with Weiss were never get past her. Trust the two people I'm crazy about to be emotionally attached to the one bitch I'm not. _Yang exhaled, pouting. _But, come on! The door was an awesome idea! _

Still, not even laughing about such things could dispel the quavering, growing fear inside Yang's belly. This wasn't just any of her dumb ideas. _I just hope she says yes. _

She exhaled for the umpteenth time since leaving the group, rubbing the back of her head. _Man, I'm such an idiot. _The forest swirled around her as she walked, her steps losing that quiet edge she'd been so focussed on maintaining. Thankfully, the noise of the stream had increased as she'd made her way deeper into the forest. _What was I thinking? Send her off into the goddamned forest and then ask her, good going Xiao Long. Of course that'll work. Man, I'm an idiot. _Panic seized Yang's torso as she thought about Blake's response. _What am I gonna do if she says no? It'd be really awkward walking back together. Or would we walk back separately? _

Yang's head swirled with anxious thoughts as she walked, the chill of the forest hardly bothering her at all, despite the fact she was dressed in a t-shirt, a plaid overshirt and a pair of shorts. _Oh god, what if she thinks I'm some kind of creepy stalker? I literally sent her out into the forest alone, and now I'm cornering her in it. Oh my god. _Yang paused, staring into the stream. It was rough, the flow constantly interrupted by jutted rocks and sharp turns, but the water was crystal clear. The noise it made, however, far surpassed anything one would have expected from such an obscure water source. Yang splashed water onto her face, hoping to absolve herself of some of her anxiety. It didn't work.

She kept walking, puffing her cheeks and blowing out air. _Get it together, Xiao Long. You committed to this, so see it through. Don't run away. _It wasn't as if Yang could just up and run. Ruby in particular was extremely excited.

_"__Yang! I can't believe you're going to ask her already. I knew this would happen!"_

_"__Ruby, ssshhh. Do you want the whole dorm to know?"_

_"__It's just really exciting! I'm really happy for you. You better tell me everything tonight, okay? Everything!"_

Yang sighed. _What if I just told her I couldn't find her? That could work. _Suddenly, the idea of running away seemed promising. _That way, there'd be no awkwardness, and Blake and I could keep being friends. Status quo maintained, nothing changes. That'd be good, right? _Yang kept constructing ways to escape in her mind.

Suddenly, she was snapped out of her daydream by a voice.

"Yang?"

It was Blake. Yang swallowed. _There goes escaping. _

The raven-haired girl stared quizzically at her, tilting her head.

"…what are you doing?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows. The plastic bag was in her hand; she'd already reached the tree. _Good. I wasn't too early. _It would have been a crime against tradition if Yang had led Blake to her tree.

"Uuuhh," Yang began, rubbing her neck and forcing a smile, eyes blinked shut. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, and the blonde was all too aware of it. "I, uh, I wanted to ask you a question."

Blake's eyebrows unfurrowed, and the neutral expression returned. The last rays of sunlight from made her cocoa-coloured skin glow like that of an Egyptian goddess, a beautiful, brilliant brown. Her hair was raven-coloured and shiny, curls bobbing with every slight movement, tresses falling down her back as if perfectly shaped. Yet most striking of all about her were her eyes – amber, piercing, feline and sharp in appearance yet utterly human in emotion. Every now and then, they'd quiver, with a slight move to the left, to the right, up, down. To Yang, it was mesmerising – Blake was mesmerising.

_She's…beautiful._

"Well…" Yang began, her voice cracking a little. The two of them faced each other, the stream down a bank behind Yang, and the trodden path behind Blake. The raven-haired girl raised an eyebrow.

"You see, I was wondering…"

_This is it. This is the moment. _Yang inhaled, taking a step backwards.

"…if you would, maybe, uh..."

The panic from before seized Yang's stomach again, not in waves this time but as a full-frontal attack. _Don't falter. Just say it. Say those words. _Yang swallowed, and said it.

"…go out with me?"

Yang looked at Blake with anxiety ripping into her chest. The raven-haired girl looked…surprised. _Oh god. Here it comes. _Yang took another step backwards in panic. _She's gonna say no, she's gonna – _

Unfortunately, Yang's foot met air, not dirt, and the lavender-eyed girl found herself toppling backwards.

"_Shit_, Yang!" Blake's hand darted forwards, grabbing Yang's with a panicked look in her amber, amber eyes as the blonde yelped in fear. Unfortunately, Yang's momentum was too much, and Blake was pulled forwards, falling on top of Yang.

Yang heard a crash, and a splash, as the two landed in the stream at the bottom of the bank. Then, Yang paused, as she realised Blake's lips were touching her own. It felt warm, and soft, and she began to miss the feeling as Blake lifted herself off of Yang, kneeling and straddling Yang's legs. In turn, the blonde supported herself with her arms. A hot, hot blush spread across Yang's cheeks as she realised exactly what had just happened. Blake looked equally embarrassed, self-consciousness replacing her usual deadpan. _Oh my god. _

"I, uh….that wasn't how I planned this." Yang stammered out, nervousness hindering her ability to speak properly. "…I mean, usually the first kiss comes after the first date, but if you do things differently in Alsace, then…"

The blonde tried to play it off, but the fact remained that Blake had accidentally kissed her, and whilst Yang was very, very pleased – and flushed – there was the possibility the dark-skinned girl didn't feel the same way. _Oh god. _

"Uh, sorry. I'm terrible for joking in a situation like," Yang gestured at the both of them, "this."

Blake's cheeks were painted with the faintest of reds, her eyes wide as she stared at Yang.

"So, I'll ask you again, uh…" Yang started, scratching the back of her head and trying desperately to pretend the blush in her cheeks wasn't real. She cleared her throat.

"Blake Belladonna, will you go out with me?"

Blake stared at Yang, eyes wide, almost fixated on her blonde, before muttering her answer and looking to the side.

"…sure."

Weiss Schnee knew Blake liked to take her time – the amount of time she took to eat breakfast testified to that – but this was getting ridiculous. It was 8:26pm, and she'd been waiting here for an hour and a half.

"This is ridiculous. I'm going to go look for her," Weiss muttered, gazing at the forest. She'd suggested doing so early – at 7:48pm, then again at 7:59pm, and then again at 8:13pm – but Ruby had insistently told her not to.

"Weiss, no. She's fine," Ruby tugged at her arm, and the white-haired girl glared, though Ruby seemed unaffected. Even though Ruby had been repeating that line for the past half an hour, each iteration sounded less convinced than the prior. Now, Weiss wondered if Ruby believed it at all.

"Why are you so insistent on my staying here? My roommate could be in danger, lost or worse, injured, and you want me to just wait for her to crawl out of the forest, bloodied and bruised?" Weiss snapped, frustrated. Ruby looked bashful, and looked to the side.

"Well…Yang went after her," Ruby mumbled, staring at the ground.

"…why?" Weiss had noticed the blonde brute's lack of presence, and had been more than a little glad to find she'd vanished.

"Well..." Ruby looked uncomfortable, "You have to promise not to tell anyone, but Yang was gonna ask Blake out."

Weiss felt mortified. _Fucking fabulous. My roommate and that uncultured swine are going to be dating. What did I do to deserve this? Can I not have one aspect of my life untarnished by that insufferable whore? _She exhaled, trying to calm herself. There was no point in getting worked up.

"If _she's_ with her and they're still not back, there has to be something wrong," Weiss pointed out. Ruby frowned, looking troubled. Weiss sighed.

"I don't care what you think," the blue-eyed girl muttered, "but I'm going to look for her."

Weiss marched towards the forest, only to stop as she noticed the silver-eyed girl in tow.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ruby flinched as Weiss spoke, a harsh tone to her words.

"Well, Yang's my sister, so…" Her words were tipped with concern, and Weiss sighed. Even if it were Xiao Long's irritating younger sister, two sets of eyes were better than one. Besides, who else would voluntarily come with her?

"Fine. Just don't irritate me," Weiss muttered, rolling her eyes and frowning. The white-haired girl folded her arms, narrowing her eyes as Ruby darted up to Jaune Arc – another person Weiss wasn't all too fond of – and whispered something in his ear. He nodded, and Ruby returned to her side.

"Let's go," she breathed, looking at Weiss with wide eyes. The white-haired girl nodded, looking to the sky.

"We should hurry; it's about to rain," she said, unfolding her arms and marching towards the forest without looking back. The younger girl toddled after her, not quite daring to walk at her side and instead trailing behind her much akin to a forlorn puppy. Weiss tried to ignore it, and focussed her attention elsewhere.

The grey sky was foreboding, and one could smell the moisture in the air. It was similar to the scent of rain on wet concrete; that earthly, homely smell. It was nice, and it stood out amongst the many aromas of the forest. It reminded her of someplace safe, someplace warm, somewhere like –

"Hey, Weiss, can I ask you a question?"

_Gottverdammt._ Without something else to focus on, dealing with anything related to Xiao Long became incredibly difficult. Working on a project with the girl was one thing, but having her interrupt every five seconds was a completely different matter.

"What?" Weiss replied, snippily.

"What happened between you and Yang? She always clams up about it…" Ruby said, her voice quiet and her tone sombre.

Weiss gritted her teeth. _Of all the questions she possibly, possibly could have asked, it had to be that one. _

"I'm hardly going to discuss that with _you_."

Weiss put possibly a little more emphasis on the end of her sentence than she'd intended, but Ruby had gotten her started and she wasn't ready to stop.

"You're her sister, you may as well be the same person; _wieso zur Hölle denkst du, dass ich das mit dir besprechen würde_?" Weiss snarled, turning to face her. No, she refused to think it. She wouldn't let those memories resurface. "Do you honestly believe I'd discuss something so personal with _you_, _du nerviger, kleiner Floh_?"

Yet, resurface they did, and Weiss found herself screaming in the younger girl's direction, her face contorted into the darkest of scowls, her eyes burning with cold, cold rage. She hated to think about it; it made her so, so angry. That someone she'd let in – someone she'd chosen, out of everyone, to trust – could just up and betray her like that? Yes, sure, they'd both messed up but the utter betrayal about it all made her burn, burn, _burn _with rage and fury and ire and anger and –

If she thought about it, it hurt, too.

Weiss's gaze fell to Ruby as her lips clamped shut, her teeth grinding against each other. She saw various shades of emotion fly across the girl's face – shock, confusion, realisation, and then _hurt_, and then finally, anger. The younger girl bared her teeth and creased her eyebrows, mouth pulling into a tight frown.

"Hey, what did I do?" Ruby glared, a ferocious expression from the girl Weiss had always seen as so childish. Even now, her baby-face was immature. _You don't get it, do you? _

"First I'm forced into a project partnership with you, and if that wasn't bad enough, you decided to follow me into the forest and ask inane, personal questions!" Weiss snarled, taking a step towards the younger girl. "You're exactly the same as your _Zicke_ of a sister."

Ruby's face crumpled, and Weiss saw tears begin to form at the corners of the girl's silver eyes. _Scheisse._

"I'm not my sister," Ruby growled, baring her teeth and stepping forward. Weiss had never seen the girl exhibit so much emotion – or focus – on anything. "I'm not Yang, so stop acting like I am!"

Ruby's shoulders heaved, with frustration or hurt Weiss couldn't tell, and her eyes were narrowed, dark and deadly – too much of a contrast from the normal Ruby.

"You keep blaming me for things I haven't done! It's not fair!" Ruby said, gesturing aggressively with her hands, this way and that.

"I'm my own _person_." Ruby's words took a dip, and all the anger faded from her voice. "Why can't you see that?"

The silver-eyed girl stared at the ground, slumping as if defeated. Weiss gazed at her with sombre eyes. _Is she really that upset? _From the tears that had just now begun to drip from her eyes, Weiss could see the answer was very clearly yes.

"…are you crying?" she questioned, less for confirmation and more to confront the girl about why.

Ruby wiped her eyes, shaking her head, and said, "No – I, uh, I just cry when people yell at me, I – ignore me, I'm sorry, I just – "

She cut herself off, slumping again. Her mouth formed a pout, and Ruby continued to stand there, unmoving, silent apart from the occasional sniffle. Weiss stared at her, noting the way Ruby seemed to cave in on herself, and then frowned, biting her lip. _She's right, and I know it. _

Weiss knew she was being cruel, but how could she explain to her – to _Ruby_ – that every time she brought up her sister, a hole opened up inside her chest, and all she could see were the similarities between them. _I was serious when I said don't bring up Yang. You did this to yourself. _

Yet as the white-haired girl watched Ruby close her eyes, shutting out the world, she knew it wasn't true. She wasn't being fair. As much as she hated to admit her own faults, Ruby had done nothing wrong. Even the physical traits she and her sister shared weren't her fault. Nor was it Ruby's fault they were stuck together as partners, nor was it the girl's fault that what happened…happened.

_She's innocent. Yet here I am, treating her as guilty by association. _She knew it wasn't fair – but why was it so hard to admit it? _Verdammt._Weiss looked upwards as rain began to spit from the sky. They knew the rain would come – she'd smelt it in the air – but they still hadn't found Blake. It was dangerous to wander about the forest in the rain; the banks would become weak, and it'd be easy to slip. Ruby looked up, her eyes clear again as if she'd never been upset, but her voice held a slight tremble to it that gave everything away. _She really was upset. I…_

"We should hurry. We're meant to be looking for Blake and Yang, right?" Ruby said, turning away from Weiss and back towards the path. The white-haired girl gazed at the space where Ruby had stood, studying it.

"…right," she said, following Ruby deeper into the forest. This time, there was pure silence. It felt unnatural.

"Hey, Ruby," Weiss said, after an unbearable ten minutes of…nothing. The younger girl paused, turning around with a fearful look in her eyes. Weiss bit her lip again, wincing as it split. _Don't look at me like that._

"Sorry," the older girl muttered, not making eye contact. "…for treating you like I have."

Weiss couldn't bring herself to get anything else out, so she cut herself off before she could start yelling again. Ruby turned back to the direction in which they were headed, stumbling over a branch.

"Thanks," was all Weiss heard, as Ruby replied with a tremble still in her voice. She wondered if Ruby was still upset. She probably had every right to be.

_It's not like I've ever done anything to earn her kindness. _Weiss almost jolted, glancing at Ruby to make sure she didn't notice. She didn't.

The thought was a foreign one. _That's right. I've done not a thing to earn it. Yet she still offers it, to her friends, to her classmates, to…me. Then I push her and push her until she finally snaps, and…_Weiss swallowed, thickly. _And then we end up in this situation. Somewhere between friends, partners and enemies and I'm not sure where, or why. _The older girl glanced at her companion, who was busy gazing off into the trees, intently. _She doesn't have any reason to stick around. So, why…? _

"Yang? Blake?"

Every so often Ruby would call out into the trees, hoping to garner some kind of response. It was raining thoroughly now, and Weiss could feel the water soaking through her jacket. _Goddammit. That was expensive. _As if she cared.

Weiss would echo the call a few moments later, making sure to omit a certain name. It didn't seem to bother Ruby; but then again, what ever did? The girl was perpetually unaffected. _Except for me. I managed to break her airy aura of passiveness. _

Weiss didn't think that was something to be proud of.

Even though she'd managed to utter a begrudging apology – more than anyone ever got, so shouldn't she be grateful? – it had done little to quell the feeling in Weiss's chest; the feeling that she'd done something wrong and she needed to be punished.

It brought back too many memories she wanted to bury, but kept digging them up anyway. Either that, or they'd crawl to the surface of their own accord.

Still, that wasn't Ruby's fault.

None of it was.

Weiss was struck again with the revelation that she was being incredibly unfair.

_I'm like that a lot, aren't I? _The two reached the red-leaved tree. Nothing was beneath it, though the two checked the roots thoroughly just to make sure. Weiss watched the girl as she searched; she was thoroughly soaked from head to toe, her oversized red hoodie stained a deep, dark crimson and her bare legs dripping. Even her shoes squelched as she moved. _Isn't she cold? Why doesn't she say anything? _

_Yang never got cold. Maybe it's a family trait. _

_…__no? Yang always said it was a personal thing._

_Why am I bringing up that slut, anyway? _

Weiss hated talking to herself.

"They're not here," she finally uttered, almost shouting, just so that Ruby could hear her through the rain. "We should head home. Maybe they made it back of their own accord."

Ruby nodded, verbal responses either impossible or pointless from the younger girl's point of view. Weiss couldn't read her. She could read everyone, just…not Ruby. _What am I doing? _

The odd feeling of guilt still filled her chest as she kept pace with Ruby, side by side. All she earned in response for her efforts was a surprised, side-wards glance. Then, they were back to silence.

Weiss felt like she needed to say something – she needed to admit her wrongs, she needed to be _punished, _but Ruby wasn't cruel, Ruby wasn't vindictive, Ruby didn't _want _to make her hurt to gain penance for Weiss's cruelty. _I don't get it. I hurt you. Why don't you want to hurt me back? _

Perhaps that was the biggest difference between the Rose-Xiao Long sisters. When Yang was pushed, she pushed back ten times harder. When Ruby was pushed, she simply gritted her teeth and dealt with it. Yang was vengeful. Ruby was not. Her father was angry. Ruby was not.

Reminders of everything Weiss expected Ruby to be and wasn't flittered through the older girl's mind. _I don't get it. I really don't. _

On some level, Weiss knew she wasn't cruel for fun. She'd treat people coldly, toe the line, and then dart over it, waiting for the counterattack. Some might call that masochistic. Weiss didn't agree.

She looked at Ruby, willing magic words to come up and explain herself, to explain to Ruby why she was who she was and why she did the things she did – but that was a whole different can of worms, and Ruby had never asked.

If one didn't ask, they didn't want to know.

Weiss wouldn't tell a story to someone who didn't want to listen. Nothing was more frustrating for either party.

Yet, even still, she wanted to justify her existence.

…why? Weiss didn't understand.

_Ich verstehes nicht. Ich kapiers nicht._

She'd never needed justification before. Weiss had simply dealt out pain, and taken it in return – life was karmatic, and if you threw in kindness coins, you'd get some in return. You got out what you put in.

It was the same with her father.

It was the same with Yang.

It wasn't the same with Ruby.

Ruby was broken karma. She'd spew out kindness coins until she was spent, and never hand out cruelty coins unless she was completely filled to the brim.

Yes, Ruby was broken.

Broken in all the ways Weiss herself wished she could be.

_It's not fair._

_I'm not fair._

_…__bad. _

Weiss kept drumming along to her own thoughts, paying no mind to the path ahead or the rain above or the coldness in her bones until suddenly the ground slipped away and she was _falling – _

"Weiss!"

Gravity battered her body as she rolled, sliding down the cliff and slamming into the ground, soggy and wet and muddy and _it hurt_.

Ruby came to a sickening thud beside her, crumpled in a heap. She didn't move.

It took a few moments for Weiss to register that they had slipped, and fallen down, down from the forest above.

"Ruby…?" she called, gently, despite the panic surging in her stomach. The younger girl didn't even stir. Weiss rolled over, struggling to get to her body but _Schmerz, Schmerz, Schmerz __– _

Her foot hurt. A lot. She dared a peek at it, only to find her ankle twisted at an angle that was surely unnatural and surely broken, but she had to crawl, she had to check on Ruby because if only she'd been paying attention this wouldn't have happened because this was her fault and –

Weiss took a deep breath, before adjusting herself, biting down on her lips, split and sore, and crawling to Ruby's battered body.

She shook the younger girl's shoulder.

"…Weiss?" the girl uttered, eyes flipping open a little. That was good. She was alive. She was awake.

That was good, right?

Weiss suddenly wished she'd studied those medical textbooks like her father wanted her to.

"Ruby, are you hurt?" Weiss's voice was thick, wobbly, and she probably sounded like she was about to cry but goddammit her ankle _hurt _and she _needed to know_. _Ruby's okay, __ihr get's gut, nicht wahr__? _

"…mmmmphheeeling…" Ruby mumbled again, eyes fluttering a little wider open.

"What? What is it?" Weiss squawked, and her voice was ugly and it was demanding but she didn't _care. _

"I…..arms are numb…." Ruby finally gesticulated. "My neck….hurts…..my back is numb…..

Weiss swallowed thickly.

_No _

_no _

_no _

_no _

_no _

_nein_

_not good _

_not good _

_nicht gut_

_bad _

_bad _

_bad _

_bad _

_schlecht_

_schlecht_

_schlecht_

Weiss shifted herself closer, trying not to let her mental algorithms show in her expression because _God _she didn't need Ruby to panic too_schlecht__, _she needed Ruby to be calm and _schlecht_collected, because Weiss certainly wasn't and she could feel the tears forming in her eyes _schlecht_and she didn't need any further encouragement.

"My arms…." Ruby croaked, struggling to sit up but incapable of doing so. "Numb…"

Weiss panicked _schlecht__. What do I do what do I do? _There was nothing she _schlecht_could do, could she?

She couldn't walk _schlecht__._

She couldn't carry Ruby _schlecht__. _

Ruby couldn't move _schlecht_.

_schlecht_

_schlecht_

_schlecht_

Weiss could feel her chest closing in on itself, getting harder and harder to breathe. Now _schlecht_was not the time. She wouldn't _schlecht_let herself panic. She needed to save Ruby.

She needed to save her.

_Ich muss sie retten._

Weiss could feel her breathing slow as she brought her hands under Ruby's back, gently lifting her.

"Don't – !" Ruby screeched, tears or raindrops or _something _streaming down her face besides pain pain pain.

"I'm sor-ry," Weiss croaked, biting her lip again because she didn't want to hurt Ruby, not anymore, but she needed to move her, they needed to get out of the rain otherwise they were going to _freeze_.

"Just f-for a bit, ok-kay? You need to-o get out of t-the rain," the older girl squeezed out, barely noticing Ruby's submissive blink in response.

It hurt. Weiss hurt. Ruby hurt more.

Then it was done, and Ruby could stop screaming and Weiss could stop _crying_.

Except she couldn't, because she was _scared _and Ruby was _hurt_ and there was nothing at all Weiss could do and she knew it, she knew it, she knew it.

"Come on," Weiss murmured, cuddling up close to the younger girl, who only flinched at the sudden pain. "Yang's coming, okay?

They were huddled under a tiny tree, the roots providing some semblance of shelter, and Weiss was _cold _and Ruby was _soaking _so Weiss unzipped the girl's red hoodie and slid inside, using her own jacket as a blanket because it was at least a little water resistant, and they needed to huddle together for warmth, wasn't that what the survival TV shows always said? Wasn't it? _Nicht wahr?_

Huddle, and keep calm except Weiss wasn't calm, she was _shaking _and _crying _and _no nothing was going to be alright because this is all my fault and we're going to die of frostbite because I'm an idiot I'm such an idiot I'm an idiot and we're going to die and – _

"Weiss…back….numb…" Ruby murmured, squirming and grimacing and _crying _because she was hurting too, so much. "Cold…"

Weiss nodded, huddling closer to regain some degree of heat, but Ruby was _so cold _and Weiss had always been that way, so how could the Ice Queen warm her up? _She needs Yang._

She needed Yang, Ruby needed Yang and Yang wasn't here, Yang wasn't here, only Weiss was and she was cold too.

"Weiss….." Ruby mumbled again, the tears streaming from her eyes warm as they dripped onto Weiss's cheeks.

"Ss-ssh-hh, Y-yang's coming, s-she's gon-na save us, ok-kay?" Weiss said, even though she had no idea but what else did you tell someone who was barely conscious?

"Yang?" Ruby murmured, her lips curving into a smile. _Good. Gut. Happy is good. _

Weiss exhaled, an ugly, undignified sob as she stared out into the rain, cold. They were cold, they were injured, they were _broken _and _crying _and there was _nothing _she could do to stop it, because it _hurt so much_.

For the first time in two years, Weiss desperately, so damned desperately, wanted Yang to find her.

**Mince – crap**

**chiant – a bitch**

**Gottverdammt – Goddammit.**

**wieso zur Hölle denkst du, dass ich das mit dir besprechen würde - why the fuck do you think I'd discuss it with you?**

**du nerviger, kleiner Floh – you irritating little flea.**

**Zicke – bitch**

**Scheisse – shit**

**Verdammt – damn**

**Ich verstehes nicht. Ich kapiers nicht. – I don't understand. I don't get it.**

**Schmerz, Schmerz, Schmerz – pain, pain, pain**

**ihr get's gut, nicht wahr? – she's okay, right?**

**Nein – no**

**Nicht gut – not good**

**Schlecht - bad**

**Ich muss sie retten – I need to save her.**

**Nicht wahr? – Right?**

**Gut - good**

**As usual, massive thanks to tumblr user canibalu-ri for their help with Blake's French, and especially to tumblr user lilamala who translated a gargantuan amount of German for this chapter, and even beta'd it for me. Those two really help make this fic what it is.**

**Thank you all for the feedback I've received in previous Chapters; I read each and every word of it, I promise. It really makes my day. Please continue to fav/follow on , kudos/bookmark on AO3 and like/reblog on Tumblr, too! I'm always available at my tumblr, .com, if you have any headcanons you'd like me to throw in, any comments you want responded to, or even if you want to start a conversation up out of the blue. Thanks, guys!**

**So, yeah. Climax continues next chapter. Not much to say there. What kind of damage will be done to Weiss and Ruby before they're found? How will this affect Blake and Yang's newly-formed relationship? Will JNPR every have any plot relevance other than exposition and phlebotinum? Find out in Chapter 7 of 55 Minutes!**

**:D**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am so fucking sorry ; v ;. I certainly didn't mean for this to take as long as it did to come out. It was just one thing after another; exams took a month, then I had writer's block for another month, and I received a rather cruel criticism on one of my works that had me feeling pretty down for the past two weeks. But here it is! I definitely haven't forgotten this story! ; v ; Also, by the time you get to Ruby's segment, I highly suggest you have another tab open with the translations (found at the bottom of this chapter), as all the dialogue is in Tagalog, and you'll be very confused unless you speak it! Please enjoy~**

Blake Belladonna had never been more embarrassed in her entire life. _I can't believe I accidentally kissed her, of all the things I could have done. _The personal humiliation was even worse than the time Adam had walked in on her changing, or when the boys had raided the girl's panties, and Blake had caught one of them sniffing hers. _Of all the things. Je n'y crois pas_. Even now, Blake could do nothing more than try not to let Yang see the redness in her cheeks. She had to be composed – rational, logical, think it out, just think it out. _ What have I gotten myself into? _

Yang had been oddly quiet this entire time. Typically the blonde would be chattering about this and that, non-stop, on and on until Blake had to stop her from walking into something. Even that in itself was odd, considering how mellow Yang was around Ruby, and around her other friends.

_Am…I doing that to her? _The thought was a pervasive one, and Blake felt her face flare. She unconsciously brought her fingers to her lips, the memory of the sheer heat and gentle coarseness of Yang's lips on her own still painfully fresh in her mind. The dark-skinned girl straightened her shoulders a little, trying to regulate her breathing. It wasn't _fair_ that Yang did this to her.

Still, the thought of dating someone else, of dating Yang, was the thing truly at the front of her mind. _If that kiss hadn't happened, would I still have said yes? _Maybe in her flustered state, she'd been a little hasty. She still…wasn't quite sure how she felt about the lavender-eyed girl. Yang was an incredible person, yes, but they'd only known each for a week. _Aren't we moving a little too fast? Peut-être…_

Blake stole a glance at the girl walking beside her, with the hair like golden glowing embers, and the eyes like soft petals that could turn to lava in a heartbeat. It was hard to describe – it wasn't a violent, or particularly strong reaction, like all the books said attraction was – it was just an inclination, perhaps? The black-haired girl's eyes would stray, and come to fall upon Yang. It was magnetic, just a little bit. _…am I really okay with this? Ce n'est pas moi... _Blake had never been a person to fall so quickly; any attraction was slow, and hard-earned, yet with Yang…

Blake bit her tongue. _I should stop worrying. Isn't getting to know each other better the whole point of dating? _Still, she couldn't quite quell the insecurities simmering in her chest. Even if Yang was transparent about herself, Blake knew she couldn't say the same about herself. She had things to hide – things she needed to run from.

"It's coming down pretty hard, huh?"

Yang's voice suddenly broke the silence, and Blake's head snapped to the side, possibly a little too quickly for her liking. The blonde's eyes were wandering the forest, scanning the rain, the trees, the ground, everything except for the dark-skinned girl who walked side by side with her.

"Yeah," Blake replied, curling her fingers, "It sure is."

It was around thirty seconds of silence later Blake realised she was butchering the chances of clearing the awkward tension, something she realised she should probably be focussing on if she was to date the girl beside her. _Ah, this is unlike me to be so scatterminded. …is that the right word? _

"So, will everyone still be waiting, even in the rain?" The words slipped from her tongue with hesitance, danced in the air and clung to every raindrop, her voice drowning.

Yang shrugged, casting her eyes upon Blake as if for the first time – _woah _– and mumbled in return, "Maybe. I wouldn't count on it, though. We've never had rain on initiation before. Stupid Winter."

Blake raised an eyebrow, trying not to look at those _awfully _pretty eyes, and frowned.

"Wasn't this your idea?" she said, giving the girl a sideward glance. Yang shrugged, a twisted smile forming at her lips.

"I guess," the golden-haired girl replied, biting at her lip, now red and chafed. Blake hadn't noticed it when they, well, _se sont embrassées, _which meant she'd been chewing on it for some time now. _It looks painful. _Blake wondered if it was a habit of the girl's.

Another lengthy silence followed. The sounds of the river rushing had long died away, making the lack of noise all that much more intolerable, and Blake was still very aware of the elephant in the room.

"Hey, uh, about that, uh, kiss…"

With _parfait_ timing, Yang addressed it.

"Mm…?"

Yang looked away, placing a hand behind her head.

"You know I wouldn't, uh, do that unless you were cool with it, right? Like, I didn't mean to, uh…"

"…pull me into a river and kiss me?" Blake raised an eyebrow, finishing the sentence deadpan. Yang's cheeks coloured pink, and she coughed.

"Uh, yeah, that," the lavender-eyed girl nodded, still blatantly avoiding eye contact. _That's such a cute face, merde._ Blake decided to keep that thought silent.

"Of course," Blake offered, shrugging. She still felt like there was something Yang wasn't addressing, though. "You may be loud, but you're _galante_, right?" Blake didn't know the word in English, but she hoped Yang would understand.

"Of course!" The blonde flashed her a winning smile, though it died away after a few seconds. Blake glanced at Yang's lips again. Despite the fact they looked chafed and sore, Blake wondered what they'd feel like drawn across her skin. _I imagine quite nice._ She felt her face pinken at the thought. _…now isn't the time for that. _

"Hey…" Yang spoke up again, sheepish. Blake glanced at her, slow and questioning, her mouth forming a tiny 'o'.

"That kiss…" Yang's voice lowered, almost into a mumble. "…wasn't bad, was it?"

_Ah_. And there it was – Blake finally realised what had been keeping Yang, usually so bold and bright, so quiet. She didn't have to lie as she replied.

"It was sudden, but it was…nice."

Yang's face pinkened, and Blake felt her own face burn, but almost immediately the tension in the air dissolved away. They walked in silence again, crunching sticks and leaves beneath their feet, ignorant of the rain, but this time the silence was that of content. Moments later, though she didn't utter a word, Blake felt Yang slip a hand into hers. Blake gripped it firmly as warmth spread between them, and smiled as she walked, side by side, with the girl with the golden hair.

Yang released her grip on Blake's hand as the two finally made it out of the forest – admittedly soaking wet, but from the looks of everyone still waiting, so were they. The crowd had thinned out significantly, but there were still a number of people waiting.

Even though Yang had been worried – no, more than worried – about how the confession had gone, she felt a little more reassured that Blake hadn't hated what had happened. _Nice going Xiao Long, nice going. _Yang wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not.

Either way, it was a little uplifting to hear the cheers of their classmates as the two emerged, and the chanting of "Shots! Shots! Shots!" began. Blake looked bewildered, but removed the foil seal, swallowing it down in a single gulp. Yang almost giggled – no, laughed, she didn't _giggle_ – at Blake's face after tasting it.

"Not a tequila fan, huh?" she said, nudging the dark-skinned girl with an elbow. Blake just shook her head, poking her tongue out in what was undoubtedly an attempt to rid herself of the taste.

From amongst the cheering crowd emerged Nora, with a confused expression. Her normally bouncy hair was matted down to the sides of her face, giving the girl a much less childish look.

"Ruby and Weiss aren't with you?" she said, arms folded. The girl shivered, and Yang realised just how cold it was.

"…no? Why would they be?"

Now that she thought about it, Yang couldn't see Ruby or Weiss in the crowd. Where were they? Nora frowned.

"They went looking for the both of you. I thought they would have found you by now; they were walking along the same path. You couldn't have missed each other," Nora said, wincing.

Yang blinked, trying to order her thoughts. Hadn't she told Ruby she was going to do this? Then why…? No, who cared why? Panic rose in Yang's stomach as she realised what was happening.

"Oh my god," Yang breathed, eyes wide, "Something must have happened, we have to go look for her!"

Yang headed straight towards the forest, prepared to march in and scour the entire thing. She had to find Ruby, she _had _to. It was because she took so long, what if Ruby was hurt, or worse? What if she was crying, cold and bruised, all alone? What if she couldn't move? What if she was dead? Yang chewed her lip even harder, the prospect _terrifying_. Ruby was her only baby sister; the only one she'd ever have. Yang shook the thoughts out of her mind. She was probably just messing around; Ruby would be fine, right? Nevertheless, she had to find her.

Then, Yang felt a hand on her wrist.

"Wait," Blake called, face solemn. "Just wait."

Yang wanted to bolt away, but as she gazed upon Blake's features, all concern and worry and yet _so damn pretty_, she breathed.

"Okay," the golden-haired girl said, biting her lip. Yang's hands dropped to her side. Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren and Nora all bore varying expressions of unease; the rest of the crowd had dissipated.

"If you're going to go and find them, you can't just run off. We need to think about this," Pyrrha offered, shrugging and rubbing her arms.

"It's getting dark, and it's raining," Ren pointed on, placing a hand on Yang's shoulder. "We should get into some drier clothes, and get some torches."

Yang scowled, shrugging off Ren's hand. "Screw getting changed. We'll just get wet again. And I have my phone as a torch."

Why couldn't they see, why wouldn't they listen? If Ruby was hurt, every second counted. And, as much as Yang hated to think about it, it was definitely a possibility. Why wouldn't they just –

"Your phone light won't work; you need a real torch," Nora said, eyebrows furrowed.

Jaune darted off, yelling, "I'll get some!" Yang stared at him as he ran.

"Every second we wait is another second Ruby could be freezing to death, or worse," Yang growled, biting at her lip, red and sore as it already was.

And then, Blake threaded her fingers between Yang's, and the golden haired girl stopped.

"Yang, we'll find them. They're probably fine. But nothing good is going to come of you rushing out on your own." Blake's voice was level, laced with silk and concern, all hesitation from her lack of confidence in her English gone. Yang's breath caught in her throat, and she allowed her shoulders to slump.

"Okay," she said, for the second time that night. From that, Blake smiled, and Yang felt a teensy bit of hope grow in her heart.

Jaune was back within minutes, panting, his blonde hair glued to his forehead.

"I could only find two," he gasped, breathless. "Sorry."

Yang shrugged, and muttered, "That's fine." Then, she looked at the others evenly, and said, "I'm going, of course."

To Yang's surprise, Blake stepped forward and claimed the other torch. "I'm going too."

The other four exchanged a glance, and then nodded.

"We'll tell the nurse that something may have happened. It's best to be prepared," Pyrrha said, wincing.

"Jaune and I will wait here for you two whilst you find them. If you're not back within – " Ren checked his watch, " – fifty-five minutes, we'll tell the headmaster."

Yang nodded, and Pyrrha and Nora darted off. Then, she took Blake's hand in her own, and dove back into the forest.

In just a short fifteen minutes, the forest had transformed from happy and bright to dark, dull and dangerous. The trees that had once enraptured their attention with their beauty were now reminiscent of prison bars, and the peaceful undergrowth now held terror at the crackle of every leaf underfoot, the rustle of every bush in the breeze. The rain thundered down, relentless, invading and drenching the two girls even further. Even still, they persisted.

"Ruby!" Yang shouted, eyes wild, scanning from side to side, up and down, in the hopes she'd find _something_ to help – if not, to find the girl herself. "Ruby!"

Blake was just behind her, somewhat more composed, but still drenched, and maybe a little panicky too. Their hands were still tightly interlocked, the one source of warm in the freezing cold.

They scoured the forest, retracing their steps, never once letting go of each other's hand.

"Ruby! Weiss!" Blake called, amber eyes gleaming in the darkness as she flashed her torch everywhere she could think to look.

Yang chewed her lip even harder, aware of the ulcer forming, but she didn't care enough to stop. What if they never found Ruby? What if she died cold and alone in the forest? _What if I never see her again?_

And, then, ever-so-faintly, Yang heard a voice.

"…Blake?"

Like a bullet, Yang darted towards the location of the voice, Blake following behind her wordless. Then, they saw them – Ruby's crumpled body, skin ashen and bloodied bruised, Weiss looking not much better, the two of them curled up in a tree hollow.

Yang wanted to scream, but the sound wouldn't come. In an instant, she was at Ruby's side, cradling her sister's limp body in her arms. The girl's eyelids fluttered, and Yang saw a trace of silver flicker before her eyes. _Oh god. No no no no no. This can't be happening._ The pain in Yang's voce was tangible.

"It's okay Ruby, Yang's here, it's all gonna be okay," she said, hugging the barely conscious girl to her chest. _Please be okay, please say something, please please please. Come on Ruby, you can do it. Please? _Yang felt tears welling up in her eyes – this wasn't fair, it wasn't fair it wasn't it wasn't. Then, she turned to Weiss, who Blake cradled in her lap much akin to the way Yang held Ruby.

"Explain yourself," Yang spat, tears falling from her eyes because this _couldn't_ be happening. "Explain to me why my little sister can't even _speak_."

Her breath hitched on the last word, and it came out more like a squeak. Weiss blinked, slowly, and spoke in a voice tinged with pain.

"I wanted to go searching for Blake," Weiss began, turning her head towards the dark-skinned girl who cradled her so gently. "Ruby tagged along. Then, we fell. I'm sorry."

The snowy-haired girl shut her eyes, her face creased, and her mouth formed a small frown. Yang stared, the tears falling hot and wet down her face, but she was already _soaked_ so did it even matter? _Please, please, please be okay. _

"You bitch. Unbelievable." Yang choked out, pressing a kiss to Ruby's forehead. It was unnaturally cold. _She almost killed Ruby. I can't believe her. _

Weiss grimaced, and replied, "I'm sorry. I tried to keep her warm, but…" The blue-eyed girl trailed off, shivering. Blake looked pained, but kept the panic out of her voice.

"We need to get them to an infirmary," she said, hoisting Weiss onto her back. For once, the white-haired girl said nothing in complaint. Yang just nodded, easing Ruby onto her back as gently as she could. _I'll get you home safe. I promise, Ruby. _

They ran back, wordlessly. Even with the panic that surged through Yang's mind, she kept quiet, just chewed her lip and focused on not slipping. _Please be okay, Ruby. _As they emerged from the forest, Ren and Jaune looked shocked, and offered to carry the wounded girls the rest of the way.

"Fuck off," Yang spat, eyes wild. A gentle touch from Blake, hand-to-hand, and she calmed just a little. "I…I'll take her."

At the infirmary, the nurse was already waiting, and Yang felt tears assault her cheeks as Ruby was taken from her arms. _Please be okay, Ruby. _

Despite the nurses's request, Yang refused to leave, insisting on staying. Eventually, she caved, and Yang was allowed to stay. The blonde-haired girl watched the silver-eyed girl, protecting her from all the monsters of the night as she slept.

_Please be okay_.

Yang fell asleep at Ruby's bedside, chin resting on the mattress, their hands interlinked.

_I need you_.

Weiss Schnee awoke to a dimly-lit room, and the sound of Ruby coughing.

It brought relief to her heart, but with it, regret. Her own foot was in a cast, but unlike Ruby, there was no-one sleeping at her bedside. On her side of the room, it felt just a little lonely.

"You're up," Weiss noted, taking care to lower her voice. Even if it was Yang, Weiss knew she should let the girl sleep. If not for the trauma the golden-haired girl had endured, then to save herself from another onslaught by the brute.

Ruby blinked, and murmured, "Yeah. Been awake for a while."

The younger girl didn't move her head at all – or anything, really – as she spoke, and Weiss felt a twinge in her chest. _I got off so lightly, yet Ruby…_

Weiss chewed the inside of her cheek, and felt hesitancy creepy into her voice as she asked, "You're not in too much pain?"

Ruby shook her head, ever-so-slightly, and winced. "I'm fine. The nurse came to see me, and she gave me some painkillers. She thinks I have a herniated disk."

Weiss bit into her tongue, gently. _No matter which way you look at it, this my fault. _It was her fault Ruby was injured, her fault she snapped her ankle, and her fault they were in this mess. _If only I wasn't so dumm. Then, maybe, we'd both be alright. _

"I'm sorry," she said, and there it was – the words she'd struggled to say for so, so long. The words Ruby had deserved, needed even, ever since the two had met. Just like that, Weiss's tongue froze, and she could say no more, even though she wanted to.

She wanted to tell Ruby everything; why she and Yang broke up, why she was so cold to everyone, and why she was so cruel to Ruby herself. It was everything Ruby deserved to know, and everything Weiss wanted to tell her. _Es tut mir Leid. Es tut mir Leid. Es tut mir Leid_. Yet no matter how hard she tried, the words failed to come. She was silent, because silence was the only thing she'd known. _Until now._

And then, unfailingly, Ruby Rose smiled, tilted her head just a little, not enough to aggravate her injury, and said, "What are you apologising for?"

Ruby was broken karma indeed. _Why are you so, so nett? Ich verdien das nicht. I don't deserve any of your kindness. _Weiss didn't get it; not at all.

"Why are you so nice?" Weiss blurted out, a little louder than she'd intended. Yang stirred in her sleep, but didn't awaken. _Gott sei Dank._

Ruby looked shocked, her eyebrows raised, her eyes a little wide. Then, her mouth curved into a smile, and her features relaxed.

"I don't know. Mom always used to say that if you didn't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. I guess I wanted to uphold that part of her."

Weiss chewed the inside of her cheek. She was aware of Ruby's family situation all too well – her mother had passed away when the sisters were quite young. Yang had always told her Ruby didn't remember much of her mother, being too young, but Weiss wondered how much of that was really true.

Maybe she just keep quiet about it – not to worry her big sister, or something. You couldn't hurt over something you couldn't remember.

Maybe Ruby was more conscientious than she'd given the girl credit for in the past. Or, perhaps not.

"Do you miss her?" Weiss asked, hoping she wasn't pushing too far. Lord, she'd done that enough already.

Instead, Ruby closed her eyes, and the blue-eyed girl could trace the fond memories right out of the girl's head.

"I do," she said, and said nothing more. Weiss didn't feel the need to ask any further.

Minutes of silence passed, and Weiss couldn't escape the guilt and regret that ate away at her heart. She'd been cruel – so, so cruel – to Ruby, and had received nothing but kindness in return. Wasn't that _wrong_? And yet, even as Weiss could acknowledge it – she knew it to be true, but she couldn't say anything other than 'I'm sorry'. What was an apology made of just those words worth?

Less than nothing, that was what.

She cast a glance over at Ruby, basking in the moonlight, her features drenched in pale white, almost glowing. Compared to the rest of the room, dyed in a murky blue-grey, she looked pretty.

Maybe Ruby wasn't her voluptuous sister, maybe she wasn't all curves and the confidence to pull it off. Ruby was soft angles, hyper and naïve with a touch of timidity. But she was pretty too.

And then, Weiss found the words.

"Hey," she said, trying to make eye contact, no matter how much she didn't want to. "I'm sorry."

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows, frowning.

"I still don't know what you're apologising for," she said, and _damn_ there it was again. Weiss tried to keep the struggle out of her voice, but hoped it rang genuine anyway.

"…for treating you like I have. You've been nothing but kind, and all I've been is cruel."

The words felt bitter coming out of her mouth – but she couldn't stop.

"You know, I wonder why you don't hate me. Your sister does. I would've thought she'd have told you all sorts of terrible things about me."

The blue-eyed girl exhaled, chewing on her cheek. Apologies certainly did not come naturally – but she hoped it was enough.

Weiss felt her breath hitch in her throat when Ruby inhaled, and began to speak.

"…thanks, I think. I mean, you were being pretty mean."

The words flowed off her tongue, airy and light, but to Weiss they hung heavy in her heart.

"I never hated you," the younger girl said, closing her eyes, "Yang might have bitched about you on and off for the past two years, but she never told me to hate you. Never told me why you two broke up, even. She clams up every time I ask."

The white-haired girl stared, but couldn't find any trace of a lie in the girl's features.

"I'll make an effort to stop being so rude. I mean it." The word dripped from Weiss's throat like scalding honey, thick and burning, but sweet as they passed through her lips. Ruby gazed out the window, fixated on the moonlight.

"…I'd like that," the younger girl said in a small voice, "And maybe, we could be friends? Actual friends?"

"…sure."

The words flowed from Weiss's tongue naturally, smooth and so _right_.

_This feels…right._

"You know, if I could move, I would totally hug you right now." Ruby said, a little bit of the spark returning to her voice, a little bit of _herself_ coming back, and the blue-eyed girl was reminded that she wasn't just a girl lying broken in an infirmary bed; she was Ruby Rose, and that was enough.

"Don't push your luck," Weiss snorted, but it wasn't harsh, it wasn't cruel, it was just banter and it felt so much better than the insults that had plagued her tongue beforehand.

Even if Weiss could see all her imperfections laid out in front of her, she was going to tackle them, one step at a time.

That first step began with an apology, and ended with a friend.

Ruby Rose could barely move, but she could see enough to watch Weiss's chest rise and fall as the girl slept. _I'm glad_ _she wants to be friends_. It had hurt, just a bit, when Weiss had systemically torn down everything Ruby had hoped for.

Just a bit was a lie. It had hurt a lot.

Even so, they'd made up, and Weiss _wanted_ to be friends. It was enough to make a warm feeling rise in her chest, and enough to make the silver-eyed girl smile. _Even if I can't move, things will be fine_.

Thankfully, the painkillers had kicked in, so her arms and spine didn't ache anymore, provided she didn't move around too much. Yang, though asleep, still clutched her hand, protective even as she slept. Ruby smiled. She couldn't describe how glad she was to have Yang there.

Even if she knew what was wrong with her, it was still scary. Having Yang there to hold her hand made things just that much easier.

And then, the golden-haired girl stirred, opened her eyes, and smiled as she looked at her younger sister.

"_Gising ka na pala,_" Yang said, whispering. "_Mabuti naman ok ka na. Alalang-alala ako sa'yo._"

_Judging from the tear-streaks on your cheeks, I think I have a pretty good idea. _Even so, Ruby didn't say anything out loud. It was comforting to speak in Tagalog. It reminded her of home.

"_Sorry_," Ruby said, wincing. "_Hindi ko sinasadyang mangyari 'to. Sabi ng nurse binuhat mo ako pabalik._"

Yang nodded, standing and pressing a kiss to Ruby's forehead, then snuggling up beside her, allowing Ruby to rest in the crook of her arm.

"_OK ka lang? Walang masakit sa'yo__?"_Yang asked, chewing her lip. Ruby blinked.

"_Ok lang ako. Binigyan ako ng nurse ng painkiller. Sabi niya meron daw akong, uh__,__" _she fumbled for the word, settling for it in English, "a herniated disc."

Yang frowned, resting her head against Ruby's.

"_Anong ibig sabihin nun__?_" she asked. Neither of them had much experience with spinal injuries, but thankfully the nurse had explained it to Ruby.

_"__Parang nabasag daw ung isa sa spinal discs ko, ata, kailangan nilang tanggalin__."_

Yang sighed, rubbing her little sister's head ever so gently.

_"__Matulog ka na__._"

Ruby just nodded.

"_Okay_," she said, snuggling closer to her big sister.

And then, Yang began to sing.

_"Huwag ka ng magalala sa dilim,_

_Iilawan ko ang gabi gamit ang pagmamahal na galing sa puso ko._

_Sisikat ako na parang araw,_

_po-protektahan kita at aalagaan._

_Parang halimuyak ng rosas sa isang magandang araw,_

_naririto lang ako, tinataboy ang takot mo._

_Sa haplos ng kamay ko,_

_Gagawin kong ginto ang buhay mo._

_Ginto..."_

By the time Yang had finished singing, Ruby was already fast asleep.

**Je n'y crois pas – I can't believe it**

**Peut-être… - Perhaps…**

**Ce n'est pas moi… - It's not like me…**

**se sont embrassées – kissed**

**parfait – impeccable**

**Merde – shit**

**galante – chivalrous**

**dumm – stupid**

**Es tut mir Leid – I'm sorry. This one's a little weird in German, literally translated it would be 'It does me sorry'.**

**Nett – nice**

**Ich verdien das nicht – I don't deserve it. **

**Gott sei Dank – Thank God. This is more of a figure of speech, literally translated it means 'God be thanks'**

**Gising ka na pala – You're awake.**

**Mabuti naman ok ka na. Alalang-alala ako sa'yo – I'm glad you're okay. You have no idea how worried I was.**

**Hindi ko sinasadyang mangyari 'to. Sabi ng nurse binuhat mo ako pabalik - "I didn't mean for this to happen. The nurse said you carried me back."**

**OK ka lang? Walang masakit sa'yo? – "You're okay? It doesn't hurt like this?" **

**Ok lang ako. Binigyan ako ng nurse ng painkiller. Sabi niya meron daw akong, uh, - "I'm okay. The nurse gave me some painkillers. She thinks I have a, uh,"**

**Anong ibig sabihin nun? - "What does that mean?"**

**Parang nabasag daw ung isa sa spinal discs ko, ata, kailangan nilang tanggalin - "It's like one of my spinal discs shattered, sorta, and they gotta take out the pieces."**

**Matulog ka na - "You should sleep; we both should." This actually just means sleep, but it didn't work in Tagalog without the dialogue sounding off.**

**"Huwag ka ng magalala sa dilim," – Don't you worry about the dark,**

**"Iilawan ko ang gabi gamit ang pagmamahal na galing sa puso ko." – I will light up the night with the love in my heart.**

**"Sisikat ako na parang araw," – I will burn like the sun,**

**"po-protektahan kita at aalagaan." – I will keep you safe and warm.**

**"Parang halimuyak ng rosas sa isang magandang araw," – Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day,"**

**"naririto lang ako, tinataboy ang takot mo." – I will be there to take your fears away.**

**"Sa haplos ng kamay ko," – With the touch of my hand,**

**"Gagawin kong ginto ang buhay mo." – I'll turn your life to gold.**

**"Ginto..." – Gold…**

**Oh boy, what a chapter this was to write. We get a little bit of everyone's perspective, as well as a bit of relief that Ruby and Weiss are, in fact, okay, if rather beaten up (and in Ruby's case, in need of surgery). Thankfully, the bees seem to be doing okay, even if Blake seems to be worried about something, and the White Rose duo are certainly making their way there. This looks to be the darkest chapter for a while, so you can all exhale and breathe a little knowing things are gonna be okay. Again, I'm super sorry about the ass-long wait, and if you're still sticking around, thank you so much! It really means a lot to me as an author that you enjoy my little story. As always, favourites/follows/reviews if you're on are really, really appreciated, kudos/comments are always welcome on AO3, and likes/reblogs on tumblr all make me really happy. If you liked it, let me know c;.**

**Also, boy can we have a round of applause for the amazing translators who make this story happen? Both canibalu-ri and svogel21 of Tumblr helped me with Blake's French, lilamala of Tumblr as always did a fantastic job with Weiss's German, and exogriffin and gaaaaahhhhh of Tumblr helped me out a whole bunch with Ruby and Yang's Tagalog. These people are all super super wonderful, and if you're not following them, you should be 3. See you next time, in Chapter 8!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey there readers. Been a few months, hasn't it? I swear it wasn't January when I last updated ;;;**

**I'm the worst, honestly. This sort of break between chapters is awful. I've noticed I'm still getting new readers every now and then, and for that I'm eternally grateful. It's really great to see some people still haven't given up on me, because I haven't given up on this story!**

**Well, a lot of things happened leading up until now. For starters, my parents divorced, and we moved house. That was a pretty massive change. Secondly, I entered my final year of high school, which has been a difficult workload to manage. Thirdly, for various reasons, I've done very little writing at all this year. So, my other stories? Yeah, haven't updated them much either, so don't worry, I'm giving equally awful treatment to all of them!**

**…****.sorry. Anyway, this is a bit of a surprise, isn't it? I wanted to push this chapter out as quickly as possible, so there's no other languages in it for now. Eventually I'll see if my dear translators are still okay with helping me out with this story, and I'll update it with translations then. **

**I can't guarantee when I'm going to update again – it could be within a week, or it could be within a year. It's all about how much time and inspiration I have to write. Nevertheless, I hope you all enjoy this update. If the quality is subpar, I apologise, as I haven't been writing as much lately. Here it is.**

Blake Belladonna, despite it being six-thirty in the morning, was awake. Rather painfully, mind you – she'd never been a morning person, and old habits did tend to die hard. Surprisingly, the bed across the room was empty. _As if I'd expected any less._ The chessboard on the desk was still set, mid-game, and Blake bit her tongue at the sight. _So many unfinished things. _At least her roommate's bed was made. _Ah –_

Of course it was – Weiss was still at the infirmary. The little one, Ruby, too. That was the whole reason she'd woken up so early, after all. Yang had stayed at her sister's bedside all night, and Blake felt it would be only proper if she were to fetch her girlfriend a coffee, a muffin perhaps to wake up to.

_Girlfriend_. Blake touched her fingerpads to her lips. The word still felt foreign to her, and she had to fight away an unsteady heat which threatened to rise into her cheeks. _She's my girlfriend._Still, she persisted, forcing herself into a grey sweater and black jeans before carefully shutting the door behind her, scarf in hand.

The outside world was, as expected, cold. Early morning frost decorated the grass, and Blake shivered as she wrapped the scarf, black and fuzzy and _warm, _around her neck. It was almost strange how one could feel the cold with every sense – the air tasted like snowdrops and ice cubes, the world looked that teensy bit greyer, everything smelt a tiny bit frostier, and even the bird calls seemed further away this morning.

It wasn't meant to be this cold so early in the year – the snow wasn't due for another two months or so, but perhaps today was just particularly cold. Regardless, it was enough to make Blake huddle in on herself, and allow her thoughts to wander a little as she made her way outside the school grounds.

…would Ruby be okay? And Weiss? They'd been in the back of her mind since she'd woken up, but only now could Blake allow herself to worry. They'd both been in and out of consciousness since she and Yang had found them, Weiss moreso than Yang's sister. Blake bit her lip, shivering in the cold. Yang had promised to call her if there were any changes in their condition, but she hadn't heard a bean. Then again, it was far earlier on a Saturday morning than any reasonable human would expect to be awake at. She hugged the scarf closer to her mouth, watching her breath steam in the frigid air.

It was surprising the coffee store was even open – and as Blake approached the counter, she realised she had no idea how Yang liked her coffee, or even what flavour of muffin she liked. _Shit.__ I didn't think this through._ The boy at the counter was around her age, and looked equally disappointed with his situation as Blake was frazzled.

"Can I help you?" he queried, tilting his head. Blake stood, rooted to the ground, and opened her mouth, as if to say something, but no words came out. The boy raised an eyebrow, giving her a lopsided smile.

"W-well, I'm looking for uh, a coffee for my friend, but I don't know what she likes…" Blake mumbled, averting her eyes. _And what's this boy going to know? He can't help me._

"Oh?" The boy tilted his head, resting his cheek on his palm. "Is she a regular?"

Blake nodded, cheeks feeling hot despite the chill that permeated the air.

"Uh, Yang…" Blake began, before trailing off as she realised that the poor shop boy probably had no idea who Yang was. _Good move, Blake. _

Thankfully, she appeared to be wrong.

"Oh, the Xiao Long girl? Tall, blonde, busty, with the purple eyes?"

Blake nodded again, avoiding eye contact as the shop boy chuckled.

"I'll just get you her regular order. Anything else, miss?"

Blake nodded, and gestured towards two other muffins she hoped Ruby and Weiss would enjoy. She handed over cash to the shop boy, and quietly thanked him as she stepped back outside into the freezing cold. Really, she should have thought that through a little more, right? It was lucky Yang was such a well-known customer, otherwise she'd have been stuck.

As Blake made her way back to the school grounds, she was struck with the realisation that she knew very, very little about Yang Xiao Long. _And we're meant to be dating. _Had she, perhaps, rushed into this a little too fast? She'd only been here a week; it was great she'd made some friends – more than she expected, to be frank – but a relationship? Already? _Then, again, we're only dating. It's not like she's my girlfriend – or…?_ Blake felt less sure about her situation the more she thought about it. What did Yang think the two were? Datemates, or…? _Maybe I should ask her when I get to the infirmary. _

Except that was a terribly selfish thing to think, wasn't it? Yang's sister had almost _died, _and here Blake was mulling over her _relationship status?_ Blake bit her lip. She'd been dumped into a gigantic drama a mere few hours from confessing her feelings to the person she liked, so how was she supposed to react?

…still. She had to try and be as supportive as she could, right? She cared a lot about Yang – that much she knew, and by extension, of course she cared about Ruby. It just all felt so sudden, overwhelming – but, then again, who would be feeling that any more than Ruby or Yang themselves? Blake curled her fists in at the memory of Yang's desperate calls as the two searched for the missing duo in the forest.

And of course, there was Weiss to think about. Why exactly had she been involved? As far as Blake knew, she wasn't particularly friendly with the Rose-Xiao Long sisters. The only connection they had was that of Ruby and Weiss's history project, right? If anything, at least she wasn't seriously injured like Ruby was. A broken leg hardly compared to a back injury.

Blake sighed to herself, rubbing her arms to warm herself. There was so much to think about, but the raven-haired girl felt surprised that she didn't mind it so much. It felt almost nice to have people to worry about, people to care about. There hadn't been all that much of that in the past, and it brought a warmth to her cheeks.

It was nice.

As Blake found her way back inside the school grounds, she headed immediately to the infirmary, coffee and muffin clutched tightly in her hands. She had to check every now and then to make sure she was still carrying both – she was slowly losing feeling in her hands. _Winter is the worst season._ The halls were mostly empty, so Blake could hear her footsteps echo. Most students were probably still cosily tucked up inside their dorms, fast asleep. She felt like Yang should be, also, but the girl was too devoted to her sister.

As Blake opened the door, she was greeted with a peaceful scene. Yang dozed at Ruby's bedside, blonde curls draped over the bedsheets and tumbling towards the floor. The injured girl herself blinked her eyes open at the sound of Blake's entrance, smiling and tilting her head, wincing slightly at the movement. Across the room, Weiss was reading a book, and though she didn't make a point of it, Blake just barely caught the corners of her mouth turning upwards as Weiss stole a split-second glance. The room bathed in the winter sunlight, streaming in through the window, painting them in hints of off-yellow and just-barely-not-white. She checked the time – seven-thirty now. She hadn't realised it'd taken her so long just to get ready and fetch some coffee.

Still, if anything, Yang probably needed to be awake. The girl had texted Blake about something to do with a meeting with the headmaster about the incident, starting at eight. She'd complained it was cruel to have it that early on a Saturday, but left it at that. Her worry for her sister overtook everything. Ruby really did have a fantastic sister, the raven-haired girl mused.

So, she stepped closer, reached out, and gently shook her girlf – Yang's shoulder. The girl slowly nodded her way awake, swinging her head back and blinking away the sleep in her eyes. She reached out for the coffee as Blake proffered it, staring at it with curious, hazy eyes.

"You got me coffee?" Yang asked, still sleep-delirious. The raven-haired girl nodded, and shook the bag in front of her.

"And breakfast, for everyone."

Yang opened her bag, eyes widening a little at the insides, and murmured, "I'm dating a literal saint."

Blake took the comment as a 'thanks', and smiled as she moved to hand Ruby and Weiss each their own.

"You're a life saver," Weiss gave a dry smile as she took a bite. Hers was blueberry – apparently Blake's gamble had been a success. "You don't know how awful the infirmary food is. Thank you."

"Aw, thanks Blake!" Ruby chirped, bouncing despite the fact she hadn't moved a muscle. Ruby Rose truly was a marvel. "I love chocolate muffins." Bingo. Ruby wasn't exactly a complex character.

"I'll pay you back for Ruby and I's share," Yang said, stretching. She took another sip of her coffee, and Blake caught the smile as it passed her lips.

"That's not necessary. It's the least I can do," Blake offered. If Yang asked, she was doing it because she wanted to. Not that that was a lie, but if she were honest, she felt guilty – and guilt tended to influence one's actions one way or the other.

"_Well, aren't you a kind soul_," Weiss muttered, off to the side. Blake presumed she wasn't supposed to have heard, so she pretended she hadn't. Even so, she couldn't hide the slight shift in her posture. _I need to talk to her properly, at some point. __Without Yang__. _

"You should get ready, though," Blake urged, nudging the blonde-haired girl. "Didn't you have that meeting with the master?"

"_Shit._You're right."

Yang heaved herself upright, nearly spilling her coffee in the process. She shielded her eyes from the barely-there sunlight, and stumbled forwards. _Thank God I got her that coffee. She looks awful. _For once, Blake's instinct had been spot-on.

"I'll see you later, Ruby," Yang pressed a gentle kiss to her sister's forehead, earning a giggle from the younger girl. "I'll be back later, okay?"

She turned to the raven-haired girl, rubbing her eyes, and asked, "You coming too, Blake?"

She nodded, but barely caught Weiss's scowl out of the corner of her eye as the two stepped outside, shutting the door behind them. The hallway was cold, frigid, and Blake was reminded precisely what time of year it still was. She let out a shiver, and followed in Yang's wake. For whatever reason, the blonde-haired girl didn't seem at all bothered by the cold, despite the fact her bare arms were exposed to the chilling air. She had a black hoodie tied to her waist, but made no move to put it on.

"Aren't you cold?" Blake dared to ask, breaking the silence. She instantly regretted it – she hated shattering peaceful moments. Yang just shook her head, tilting it back and gazing at Blake over her shoulder.

"Nah. People don't call me the human furnace for nothing."

"They call you the human furnace?"

Suddenly, Yang turned on her heel, and wrapped Blake in a bear hug. Shocked, the raven-haired girl froze up, unable to move. It took a few seconds before she realised just how warm the hug was. Yang radiated warmth from every inch of her body, and she felt like she could melt right into it forever.

Then – too soon, Blake pouted – Yang unwound herself, grinned, winked, and turned back around. Blake felt blood rush to her face, and prayed the blonde wouldn't turn back around or initiate conversation before she could compose herself again.

Thankfully, Yang gave her a grace period before she spoke up again.

"Thanks for coming to bring us all breakfast, Blake. It means a lot. Really," Yang offered a few moments later. She glanced at the golden-eyed girl over her shoulder, before returning her gaze to the hallways ahead.

"It's really not a problem. You did say the infirmary food was awful. I was more impressed they had food there in the first place, though," Blake replied, her voice soft and wispy on the trails of drafts blowing in from the windows. They stopped briefly outside Yang's dorm whilst the girl fumbled for her key.

"Yeah, well. Beacon's infirmary is practically a mini hospital. It has to be, considering we have such a strong sporting base. Ruby and I have both spent significant time there, so we know personally how bad the food is."

The door clicked as the lock turned, and the two stepped inside. Blake was somewhat familiar by now with the Rose-Xiao Long sister's room – it smelt strange however, nothing like the cool, vaguely perfumed scent of the room she shared with Weiss. Quietly, she thought she preferred her own space. This room just felt a little too large, even if it were probably the same size.

"I didn't know you were so familiar with the infirmary," Blake said, gazing around the room. Boxing equipment was hastily scattered in one corner, and Yang immediately went to fix it. The raven-haired girl wondered if Yang had scattered it in a frenzy the night before. It wasn't like her to be so careless with her precious equipment.

"Mm, well, it comes with the sport. Boxing is always gonna leave you battered and bruised, and Ruby's a klutz," Yang dusted off her equipment, placing it with care in a carry bag before standing, and rummaging through the chest of drawers at the foot of her bed. "This isn't the first time she's had a serious back injury, either. She hurt her spine pretty bad a couple years back, which is probably why a little fall like that hurt her so bad."

Blake blinked in surprise, watching as Yang fetched herself a new set of clothes and a towel.

"Weiss broke her leg, though."

Yang shrugged, moving towards the bathroom door.

"She's broken that leg six times now. You could probably drop your bag on it, and it'd snap like a twig. We're pretty tough at Beacon, but injuries are the norm," Yang finished quietly, before stepping into the bathroom. "I'm just gonna take a five minute shower, okay?"

Blake nodded as Yang shut the door behind her, processing all of what she'd said. _Six times? God, fencing sounds awful. And Ruby, with two serious spinal injuries? They're going to destroy their bodies. _Blake had never much been a fan of playing sport anything other than casually. She'd seen the grotesque consequences of bodybuilders, and she'd seen the awful, awful injuries rugby players and soccer players went through when their careers ended in one swift tackle. Then again, she'd never had the opportunity until she'd come to Beacon, so maybe she was just biased. She'd been poor enough as it was. Orphanages didn't make a habit of giving out pocket money.

Still, Blake wondered if she'd get used to visiting the three of them in the infirmary, fetching coffee and muffins and breakfast for them. It seemed like a pretty miserable existence – she'd never liked hospitals, personally. They reminded her of feeling scared, alone, sitting in the hospital waiting room whilst machines beeped and nurses shouted, wondering if anyone was ever going to come collect her, if anyone was going to come back.

They never did.

Blake didn't think about it much anymore. If nothing else, it had been a learning experience._Still, I don't want to think about it__. _She shook her head, trying to clear it of unpleasant thoughts. She heard the water turn off in the bathroom opposite. _Yang must be out of the shower. _Blake's thoughts drifted to the girl, and she wondered how exactly she looked with wet hair. It'd be just a tad darker than normal, perhaps a dark blonde rather than a golden colour, and it'd still be curly, glued to her soft, soft skin and framing her chest. She'd look gorgeous with water dripping down her shoulders, surrounded by steam –

Then, the door opened, and Blake immediately blushed beetroot red, snapping out of her daydream. Yang emerged, fully clothed, and tilted her head as she looked at Blake, raising an eyebrow.

"You okay? Your face is all red."

Blake nodded, pursing her lips and looking away.

"Mm, it's just really warm in here," Blake forced out, avoiding eye contact. Yang looked thoroughly bewildered, but shrugged. _Thank God._She didn't particularly feel like being pressed about why her face was so blatantly red. _I don't think either of us are ready for that discussion. _

"Anyway," Yang grabbed a hoodie from a hook on the back of her door. "I need to go, otherwise Goodwitch is gonna have my head."

"Want me to wait for you?" Blake offered, trying to ignore how fast her heart was beating. Yang looked over her shoulder, damp blonde curls bouncing, and Blake could only describe her grin in sunrays.

"That'd be great."

Yang Xiao Long had never been fond of mornings, and she was sure Goodwitch had picked a particularly early weekend meeting _just _for her. _She's an unsufferable bitch at times, I swear to God. _It only made it worse to think that the night she'd spent in the infirmary wasn't because of a great party but because of _Ruby_, injured again to the point where Yang was scared that maybe things wouldn't be all okeydokey this time. Spines were delicate things, and Ruby only had one. The shining light of her morning, however, was her dearest girlfriend, Blake, delivering her _favourite_ coffee and muffin straight to her.

Now, they walked through the decidedly empty Beacon halls, making their way to the administration building. It was still early, so the walls were hued in a slight blue – most Beacon boarders were sleep wrapped up in their bedcovers, much to Yang's envy. The cold barely nibbled at her skin, but she let herself shiver reflexively anyway. Blake nudged her, raising an eyebrow.

"Didn't you say you couldn't feel the cold?" she asked, her voice laced with suspicion. Yang shrugged, trying to play it off.

"It was just a reflex."

The dark-skinned girl rolled her eyes, frowning.

"_All _shivers are reflexes, _idiot_," Blake pushed, elbowing the blonde again. Yang mock-stumbled to the side. She wasn't really cold, but she'd let Blake believe what she wanted.

"You wound me with your fierce blows, Belladonna," the lavender-eyed girl let herself fall to the ground, clutching an invisible gash. Blake just rolled her eyes again, folding her arms and continuing to walk. She hummed to herself as Yang picked herself up off the ground, jogging after her.

Yang wondered if Blake was just a tad annoyed at her drama queen performance, and felt a little relieved she wasn't in the doghouse when she caught a glimpse of a grin in Blake's face – and oh, what a pretty face it was. She kind of wanted to kiss her, but held back. It would be too forward, right? They hadn't even been on a proper date yet. _Everything in due time, Xiao Long. Do it properly. _

Oh, how Yang Xiao Long had learnt the importance of doing things properly.

"What does Mr Ozpin want, anyway?" Blake spoke up, tilting her head. Yang frowned, and sighed.

"Probably to discuss what happened with Ruby," Yang offered, shrugging. "I don't know why it had to be at 8 in the fucking morning, though."

_I really don't get why 8 on a Saturday is an acceptable waking hour for anyone, let alone a high school student. This is so dumb. _Still, despite, her protests, Yang knew she'd be in deep shit if she didn't go, so she complied. She felt she made her opinion on the matter very clear when she threw open the door to the administration building, stomped into the waiting room, and sat with a huff, folding her arms. Goodwitch was sitting quietly at the desk, typing away at her computer. Of course, she paid no mind to Yang's arguably childish actions – the two were well acquainted, and she'd long learned that the best way to deal with Yang Xiao Long was not to. Blake took a seat next to her, her posture significantly more refined than Yang's slouch, hands folded and resting atop her knees, whilst Yang slung her arms over the back of the couch.

Before either of them could say anything to break the silence, Ozpin appeared from his office, lifting his coffee cup to his lips.

"Good morning, Miss Xiao Long, Miss Belladonna. Gracious of you to join us. Now, if I may steal Miss Xiao Long from you for a short while, Miss Belladonna," Ozpin gestured towards his office, "That would be lovely."

Yang frowned. Ozpin always seemed _so_ polite, but she knew from experience that behind his mannerly demeanor lay a calculating headmaster who didn't take any shit. He was, for the most part, relatively relaxed with his students in their free time, but Yang was fearful for what was to come.

"I'll be back in a bit," she said, waving her goodbyes to Blake and hoping like hell they weren't her last. She'd been on the brink of expulsion before; the blonde knew not to underestimate Ozpin's punishments. She followed Ozpin through into his office, just barely catching an unreadable expression from Goodwitch out of the corner of her eye as the secretary turned towards. The lavender-eyed girl had no idea what it meant, but the churning in her stomach increased just a little.

"Please, take a seat."

Ozpin gestured towards the worn leather seat, opposite the desk from his own. There was a large window behind him – light streamed in, colouring the carpet, the bookshelves, and the wallpaper. Somehow, the older man looked just as colourful as ever, despite the lighting. Yang sat down, shivering at the coolness of the leather, and looked up at Ozpin expectantly. He adjusted his scarf, then took a sip of his coffee, before speaking.

"How is Miss Rose faring?" he asked, interlacing his fingers and resting his chin atop them. Yang swallowed.

"She's okay-ish. She'll probably need surgery."

"I see," Ozpin lifted the coffee cup to his lips again. "And how did you feel, when you discovered how hurt she was?"

The lavender-eyed girl's eyes narrowed. "Helpless. Afraid. Terrified my baby sister wouldn't make it out of the forest alive." She didn't like where this was going, not at all. "Frustrated that I hadn't been there to protect her, and keep her safe."

Ozpin nodded, resting his coffee cup on the desk again. It sat with a quiet clunk.

"That, Miss Xiao Long, is precisely how I feel when any of my students get hurt. I know every injury that has passed through the infirmary, from minor scrapes to devastating, career-ending wounds," Ozpin frowned, lowering his eyes. "That was precisely how I felt when I heard of Miss Rose and Miss Schnee's accident. I have known the three of you for a considerable time now."

He paused, and looked at Yang in the eyes.

"I felt helpless, I felt as if I had failed my students by not protecting them. This incident occurred on a school day, within school grounds, and yet I was not able to prevent it from occurring," Ozpin reached for his coffee cup. "Therefore, you must understand where I'm coming from."

Yang nodded. "I do, sir."

Guilt, and remorse trickled their way back into her stomach. It was an incredibly unwelcome feeling, but not unfamiliar. Yang had already beaten herself up over it a thousand times over.

"I have decided to forbid students from entering the forest unless accompanied by a teacher. I understand that your free time is your own, and that your little initiation is a key part of Beacon culture, but I cannot risk an incident like this occurring again," Ozpin rested his coffee cup. His tone was flat. "Do you understand?"

Again, she nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Then I can presume you have no argument. I will make an announcement at assembly on Monday, but I will leave it to you to spread the word. You're free to go, Miss Xiao Long."

Yang bowed her head, standing silently and turning towards the door. Blake stood up immediately, concern on her face.

"What did he say?" she asked, amber eyes wavering slightly.

Yang shrugged. "Initiation's been culled. No more late-night forest make-out sessions for us," she tried to joke, but she could hear how unconvincing she sounded. Her heart sunk at the thought of no Beacon student ever going through their initiation ever again – it was tradition. No dorm resident at Beacon had ever stayed without completing initiation. Even Weiss – though the thought made her toes curl – had gone through with it.

It just felt wrong to see it go.

"Let's beat it," Yang said, turning her back and ignoring Goodwitch's barely concealed staring. "I wanna see if Ruby wants anything."

Blake nodded, and the two left the administration building.

Ruby Rose was, quite frankly, sick and tired of being stuck in the infirmary. She'd been there enough times to have memorized the walls and the ceiling and the floorboards. She could feel enough strength in her arms and legs to move again, but the pain in her spine was omnipresent. _A herniated disc, huh. I guess I should've known I was bound to do something to my back again. _Except, last time, it had been all ambulances and hospitals and emergencies, whereas this time it was a little calmer. Of course, calm meant boring, and that was _awful, _but the silver-eyed girl supposed she should be grateful she could at least feed herself now. The muffin was sweet – chocolate was the _best _flavor after strawberries, of course.

"It was nice of Blake to get us breakfast," she commented quietly, wondering if Weiss would respond. The white-haired girl was staring out the window, her expression dull. Ruby couldn't tell if she was tired or just bored. She'd finished eating, leaving nothing but the brown paper bag crumpled up on her bedside. When the blue-eyed girl failed to respond, Ruby held back a sigh. Weiss had asked to be friends, sure, but what exactly did that mean? If anything, the silver-eyed girl wondered if that meant just going back to being ignored. Maybe she didn't even mean it – maybe Weiss had just been saying all those things to shut her up, and pacify her.

Ruby sighed. Maybe she'd been silly to hope for anything. It wasn't like Yang's relationship with the girl had improved over the years. Still, she had hoped –

"She got it for Yang, not you or I," Weiss finally responded, her voice slow. Ruby glanced at Weiss, noting the way she blinked slowly, and yawned. _Oh. Maybe she really was tired. _For whatever reason, Ruby felt a lot better knowing this was the case.

"She's your roommate though. I'm sure she would've helped out anyway," the brown-haired girl offered. Weiss shrugged, looking away.

Ruby withstood around sixty seconds of silence before she felt compelled to force another conversation. She didn't really want to dance around Blake and Yang's relationship status, and she know personally how much of a ticking time bomb discussing Yang was.

"You know, the exchange students are coming next week! You get along well with Neptune, right?" she tried, attempting to be jovial.

Ruby could have sworn she saw Weiss freeze up for just the briefest of moments, before glancing at the girl and nodding, the tiniest smile on her face.

"Mm, we do."

The silver-eyed girl wondered if she'd imagined it, but – probably not.

She did catch the way Weiss hugged herself as the white-haired girl stared out the window, nt offering anything else in the way of words.

Ruby wondered if she'd ever make conversation without bringing up a sore point.


End file.
